Title: Are school vouchers overdue? Original CoS Document (slug): [[https://conventionofstates.com/are-school-vouchers-overdue|are-school-vouchers-overdue]] Login Required to view? No Created: 2023-05-28 15:29:11 Updated: 2024-07-16 04:41:42 Published: 2023-05-29 01:00:00 Converted: 2025-04-14T21:24:58.877764195 ---- The government school system has a near monopoly on our education system. Teachers' unions have a monopoly on teacher representation and are supported by the government. Teachers' unions are some of the biggest donators to political purposes.  Is it time to introduce some competition in our education systems? Is it time to give parents back control of the education process? Is it time to get back to reading, writing, and arithmetic? How do we answer these questions?\\ \\ As more people become dissatisfied with our government-run schools, they yearn to make a change but have run into non-responsive school boards, interference from the Department of Justice and the Department of Education, and huge push-back from “woke” supporters and the unions. This interference and lack of support leave a parent with few and expensive alternatives. If parents want to try a different school, they must pay for the public school system (through taxes) and pay for their child’s private schooling. It seems unfair. Few parents can afford such a situation. Yet, the government subsidizes public schools with thousands of dollars for each student each year. Is there not a different and better way?\\ \\ Of course, there is. If the government subsidies were to follow the student, parents would be given a choice of schools without the financial burden of having to pay two educational fees. Government schools would become more responsive because of competition. Bad schools would be weeded out because of competition. Each student would get a voucher that can be spent only on the student’s education. Homeschool students could use the voucher for course material. Competition is what drives improvement. Where is the competition today?\\ \\ Today’s students lack the basic skills required to live life. What are those skills? These skills include reading, writing, and English; mathematics; history; civics and government; science; art and music; and life skills. Parents need to have input on the student curriculum. The federal government should get out of the education business. Education criteria should be mandated by the states with intimate participation by the parents and with a measurement that emphasizes results rather than participation.\\ \\ We should have advanced classes for gifted students and we should also have classes for those students that have learning disabilities. The idea that we can treat all students the same punishes the gifted students and leaves behind the students with learning disabilities or reduces education to the least capable student. The purpose of education is to prepare the student for life and life’s work.\\ \\ In some countries, there are two high school levels: college preparatory schools and schools that prepare a student for a career in the trades, industry, and business. A student must be good at something to survive in our world today.  \\ \\ It is axiomatic that you are paid what you are worth – not what you deserve. Life is not fair. A job in the fast-food industry is not meant to support a family of four. It is meant to introduce new workers into the field of business, a business that teaches responsibility, commitment to work, being on time for work, and to teach customer relations. Worker supply and demand also determine wage rates. The key is education. A person is always “in school.” Education is a lifelong journey and never stops.  \\ \\ In conclusion:\\ * Parents should be a key driver in their child’s education and should provide valued input to the educational system.\\ * States should take over the education system and the federal government should get out of the education business.\\ * Each student should be given a voucher that would go towards their education expenses.\\ * Advanced classes should be offered to gifted students.\\ * Unions should not be mandatory for educators, but voluntary.\\ * Competition is how we improve education.\\    o Not everybody needs to study calculus.  \\    o Not everyone needs to be a literary artist.\\    o But – everyone needs to be prepared for life and be good at something. \\ * The states should certify that a student is prepared for life through testing that measures results, not participation.\\ \\ A Convention of States, permitted by Article V of the Constitution, offers a unique opportunity to propose amendments to the Constitution that Congress will not consider – like term limits, balancing the budget, and installing limits on the President and Congress. Education is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, but comes under Article 1, Section 8 (Powers of Congress) to “provide for the …. general Welfare of the United States, …”   Is it not time to address formal education as to preparing a student for life and a career of meaningful benefit?