School Choice

Do you think allowing children to attend school of their choice will work in other areas? Will it cause other problems or is it a potential solution that other should follow? Explain your reasoning.

I think that choosing schools can be a potential. Every school has a maximum capacity. Schools that are not chosen as often as more popular schools could suffer also. Administration, teachers, counselors, etc...will potentially be out of work or would have to relocate. And who decides which students get to have their choice and which students have to deal with what is chosen for them. At some point there will be someone who does not get the pick of their choices. Then what?

2008-05-06 16:15:08 by Melvenia D

School choice offers families the opportunity to select schools that meet their child's needs. Watch the video from Heritage Foundation ...

Do you feel school choice options are a benefit to parents and students? How does having school choice options affect the funding of public schools? Explain your reasoning.

Public Schools
Magnet Schools
Charter Schools
Private Schools
Virtual Schools
Dual-enrollment programs

I think the chief benefit is flexibility. If you have a child talented in the arts for example, a magnet school that focuses on the arts is a good match. Likewise, if you have a child good at math, a magnet school focusing on math & science would be good for the child. It's all about matching students with the best learning environment for their indivual makeup. Kind of like selecting a college later in life... you need to consider what the college specializes in, the sizes of classes, contact time with professors, etc. Let's face it... all these choices are there for a reason... and the reason is demand for what parents consider is a better opportunity for their children.

2008-07-22 18:33:25 by ☆Breezy's Love...CJ ★

Is the person who wishes to go to a certain school obligated to live in that district/state?

If you are taking about UK schools, then generally, yes you have to live within a certain distance of the school to be accepted as they allocate places based on those who have a brother/sister at the school, then those which live nearest 'as the crow flies' from the school. Exceptions to these are church schools, grammar schools and private schools, so it is probably best to check the individual school's admission criteria which I'm sure is available online or on request.

2007-09-03 06:53:51 by spiffehdoo

Price: $16.99

I live in a city that has horrible public schools, but luckily we also have school choice. Because of this, I am able to send my kids to school in another district, as long as I am willing to provide their transportation, and it does not cost any more than if they stayed in district. I personally LOVE it!!

The worst schools in our city are closing 1 by 1 because of low attendance, and the ones that are left are getting the idea that they need to get their acts together or follow suit. Some people are complaining that they no longer have a school in their neighborhood. My thinking is, who cares where the school is if your kids aren't learning anything?

I also have a theory that we are just in a stage where we are making an example of the bad schools, and eventually, we will swing back in the other direction. I believe that as the good schools in our district start to get overcrowded, we will have to open more schools again, but this time they will be of a much higher quality.

Any economist will warn that a monopolistic market is a market gone wrong. In a monopolistic market there is only one supplier. Since there is only one supplier, it can produce as inferior of a product as it wishes; people simply have no choice but to accept the product. The US government serves children with free, but inferior public education. The inferiority arises from the government’s monopoly over public education. The only way to change a monopolistic market is through creating competition in that market. Competition is the crucial element which makes our capitalistic society successful. If our economy thrives because of competition, why can’t our educational system also thrive on this principal of capitalism? It is widely accepted that young people who graduate high school are much more likely to succeed in the workforce. However, according to the U.S. Department of Education, “The U.S. has fallen to ninth in the developed world in high school graduation rates among young adults” (OECD). Critics of our public school system blame inadequate funding as the main cause of failure, but public school expenditures have increased, and so have dropout rates (Kearnes in Murphy 138). Although proper funding for a school is important, there is something missing in the American public school system. The answer to reforming the educational system and helping our children succeed is more competition between schools. Competition can be created through charter schools and educational voucher programs.

2007-03-16 10:59:40 by mloraine76

Will school choice create greater stratification and segregation among public schools. (For example, strong schools will have better equipped students and weaker schools will have more challenging less-prepared students.

I think that's an opinion piece YOU will have to write.
Here are a few websites for background info:
http://www.schoolchoices.org/
http://www.schoolchoiceinfo.org/
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/choice/schools/ed picks.jhtml

2008-07-27 10:41:45 by Melvenia D