Commonweal Institute Blog

"We're All In This Together"
A talk by Commonweal Institute Fellow David C. Johnson to supporters of public education, presented March 7, 2007.

A couple of weeks ago I was thinking about how to start this talk, when I came across this video clip from the Sean Hannity show on Fox News:

Click to play video clip

[Clip of Fox News, Hannity & Colmes, with Neal Boortz saying that teachers unions are more dangerous to America than terrorists armed with nuclear weapons because a nuke could only wipe out 100,000 people but public schools are "destroying a generation."]

I’m showing you this because it illustrates something that we increasingly have to deal with. I’ll talk about how this uncivil hyperbole fits into the overall pattern of what we as supporters of public education are dealing with. Then I’ll talk about what we can do about it.

What you just saw was on the most-watched cable TV news network just two weeks ago.

Vouchers are back in discussion again. Vouchers is the name for the idea that the government should give big checks to people to send their kids to private schools. It seems to me similar to arguing that if you don't like the bus system in your town the government should buy you a new car.

Here's the latest: Vouching for vouchers (Education).

This was of interest to me:

5) Vouchers destroy the public school system So? Having a public school system seems like a dumb goal to me, but even assuming that the very existence of such a system is somehow a worthy thing to aim for, surely it's achievement should be a second-order priority.

OK, I'll tell you what. Instead of refuting the nonsense that the privatization proponents use to bamboozle people I'mm make this deal: I'll vote for vouchers as long as the private school has to accept ANY kid, of ANY race or religion, with ANY disability or emotional problem -- just like public schools do. And they have to provide the services public schools provide those kids. AND the school must accept the voucher to cover the full tuition at that school, no matter what the school normally charges. Under those circumstances I think vouchers would be just fine. But we all know that educating our children -- regardless of their race or income or intelligence or problems, in other words, democracy -- isn't what vouchers are about at all, is it?