4a
Opinion
Monday, October 16, 2000
For comments, contact Ben Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
Vouchers may hurt private, public schools
I would probably be more amused by the different ideas non-education professionals come up with to reform education if it weren't for the fact that those individuals often end up in power and try to implement their wacky ideas. I seem to be fresh out of chuckles when I hear politicians talking about trying to reform schools with vouchers.
There are many varieties of the proposed "voucher" system. The general idea is the same, however. Instead of funding public schools directly, the government would give each family a document representing a set amount of money to be spent on each child's education. The idea is that parents who are dissatisfied with their kids' school could use this "voucher" to pay for tuition at another school, be it public, private or parochial. This would force public schools to compete for
their students and presumably improve.
Not surprisingly, the idea is supported by many conservative businessmen and economists who envision the transformation of our primary school system into a vibrant capitalist marketplace — their preferred remedy to almost any societal problem.
Proponents of vouchers say this reform would improve test scores and allow those parents who their kids are trapped
David Grummon columnist opinion@kansan.com
in bad schools to move them to better ones.
in bad schools to move them to better ones. My first concern with such a proposal is that it interferes with the separation of church and state. From the state's perspective, this means some public money would fund religious schools, not a role government should play.
From the perspective of private and religious schools, state and federal funds might open them to unwanted lawsuits and/or government regulation in such areas as outcomes, curriculum or their selection processes. Vouchers might have the effect of eroding the freedom and autonomy of such private institutions.
My greater concern is the potentially negative effect on public schools. The voucher system would drain money away from public schools that, in many cases, are already underfunded. Schools already in trouble would hurt even more when parents remove their children and the accompanying government funds.
The business types certainly will argue that the schools that lose droves of students would simply be natural casualties of the new survival-of-the-fittest primary education industry. Could public schools even hope to compete on a level playing field in such an industry? Public schools generally have to accept and accommodate everybody, including students with behavior disorders, multiple handicaps, learning disabilities and bad home environments.
Private schools usually don't have the facilities, personnel or the obligation to deal with such students. Private schools, by their very nature, can exclude whom they want, usually by cost. In that case, higher tuition surpassing the amount of vouchers could simply subsidize those already able to attend while barring those who can't afford to.
The easily taught students will be able to go to school anywhere, while those with educational difficulties will be left in greater concentrations at the public schools. Without "problem" students to tax their time and resources, higher test scores at private schools would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Sadly, the more obvious educational reform, making education a spending priority by giving schools the funding, personnel and resources they have long needed to improve, really hasn't been tried. I find that odd, since most Americans prefer improving existing schools to providing vouchers, according to a recent Gallup poll.
I agree wholeheartedly that throwing money at problems in public education won't fix it, but draining all its funding won't be helpful either. Will vouchers help improve the test scores of some individuals? Maybe. But sacrificing public schools and risking the autonomy of private schools is too high a price to pay for an idea with so little chance of improving education for everyone.
Grummon is a Boltot law student.
Steve Sack / TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
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Perspective
Ad in Kansan is inaccurate encourages xenophobia
Our United States of America is a nation of immigrants. We are truly the melting pot of the world. So, me being your
Our United States of America is a nation of immigrants. We are truly the melting pot of the world. So, me being your average red-blooded American, you can imagine my reaction to an advertisement in the Tuesday edition of the Kansan from the American Immigration Control Foundation.
After my initial shock at knowing our paper sells space to an organization such as this, I examined what the ad said, and the complete pack of lies that this ad amounts to is what
prompted me to write this column. All of the following quotes are verbatim from this ad.
Now, before you right-wrink cranks start yelling about illegal aiens, here's a disclaimer for you all: This ad mentions nothing about them. If you want verification of this, please refer to page 3A of the aforementioned Kansan.
Quote: "Immigration can make —or break—a country."
Where is the evidence to prove this statement? Did
This statement, apart from being totally
the massive wave of immigration to our shores at the turn of the century break America as a nation? Absolutely not. If nothing else, it enriched our country in every way conceivable. The list of notable contributors to American culture and industry whose families have come from overseas is endless. If, as this ad suggests, current immigration levels are sending our nation down an apocalyptic path, then why is our economy the strongest it has been since World War II?
Quote: "Of special interest to college students; Current immigration policies may keep you from getting good high-tech jobs after you graduate."
Mark
Goode
guest columnist
opinion@kansan.com
inaccurate, serves, I believe, to inflame ant-immigrant feelings. There is no shortage of high tech jobs in this Information Age economy of ours. The only reason there is a perceived shortage of jobs is because not enough people are trained to perform them. Just give our education system time and money enough to remedy this, and it will no longer be a problem.
Quote: "The U.S. Census Bureau projects that U.S. population may double within fifty years — to more than half a billion — if the current unprecedented levels'of immigration continue."
There is nothing true about this statement. First, according to the Census Bureau, the rate of national population growth has been declining since 1960. The statistics speak for themselves. The population grew by 18.9 percent from 1951 to 1960, and by 13.3 percent between 1961 and 1970. It grew by 11.5 percent from 1971 to 1980 and by only 9.8 percent from 1981 to 1990.
Now, what do these statistics mean? They mean that despite the dramatic rise in the number of legal immigrants since 1960, the rate of population growth for the nation has steadily dropped. Therefore, immigration is not the problem when it comes to controlling the growth of the American population.
Couple those statistics with the trend in net immigration during the same period, also from the Census Bureau: From 1951 to 1960, net legal immigration was just less than 2.1 million. That number grew to 2.4 million for 1961 to 1970, more than 3.3 million for 1971 to 1980, and zoomed to more than 5.7 million for 1961 to 1990.
If immigration is not the problem, then, by process of elimination, the problem must be that the birth rate is too high. Contraception and abortion are effective ways to lower the birth rate, but that's another column.
Goode is a Littleton, Colo., sophomore in political science.
Editorial
Regulations will inhibit researchers
New laws will be detrimental to the quality of University research.
Recently, the University of Kansas made it a requirement that any research being performed by KU professors must follow guidelines that may not apply to their field.
Normally, only projects that are being funded by the National Institutes of Health need to follow these criteria, but to the disappointment of many researchers, the University of Kansas is making those guidelines required for all studies.
Many researchers are upset with this change in procedure. The Advisory Committee on Human Experimentation must now approve every project on campus, but the University stands behind its new procedure, stating that it now applies the same standards to all projects.
Many say that short notice has been a problem. The mandate was decided in June.
Most, however, are upset with the fact that all research, regardless of topic, will have to follow this criteria. Whether it is performing medical research, merely observing students or asking questions, a 160-page presentation must be viewed and completed. This is a waste of researchers' time.
Although each side has proposed a valid argument, the committee is working toward correcting something that does not need fixing. If certain committee members are unhappy with how some projects are turning out, it should be remedied on a case-by-case basis, not by punishing those who have done campus research for decades.
The NIH criteria only needed to be followed by those projects that are being funded by NIH dollars. Is the tail wagging the dog?
Studying 160 slides of Power Point style information is clearly not an easy operation and is especially unfair to graduate students who are conducting research.
Furthermore, being overloaded with such information is designed more to make the researcher burdened than excited to gather data.
If this change in research procedure is being made to make all data presented in the same format and to the same standards, different methods of training need to be implemented.
Ben Tatar
for the editorial board
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. To read more, go to www.kansan.com.
if we're allowed to smoke 20 feet from the doorway, then why are there cigarette receptacles five feet from the door?
The comments on the sidewalk during Coming Out Day were uncalled for and give (Queers & Allies) a bad image.
if we're allowed to smoke 20 feet from the doorway, then why are there cigarette receptacles five feet from the door?
Who says that European life is the only civilized life?
if we're allowed to smoke 20 feet from the doorway, then why are there cigarette receptacles five feet from the door?
If the sidewalk comments were so profane, then why did the Kansan find them suitable to print them in the paper?
Why is it that Christians think they know the will of God?
--if we're allowed to smoke 20 feet from the doorway, then why are there cigarette receptacles five feet from the door?
The leader of KU Students for Life is brave for representing students who don't have a voice.
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People who use ironic or idiomatic expressions should use them correctly.
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The administration should stop spending money on Jaybowl. No one goes.
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Hey, Chi Omega, the football game's over. You can take your sign down.
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If a tree fell on a mime in the woods, would anyone care?
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How can a holiday fail?
Fashion changes, style doesn't. Don't call something fashion if it's style.
Kudos to the Kansan for using the word queer in their article for Coming Out Day.
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Al Gore looks like a frog.
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Why do we drink cow milk?
How could Coming Out Day be bad? I hope one day it is celebrated like St. Patrick's Day.
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There's this girl in my Spanish class who I really like, but I'm afraid to talk to her.
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