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From: msimpson@bbncca.ARPA (Mike Simpson)
Newsgroups: net.religion,net.politics
Subject: Re: School Prayer -- My personal opinions
Message-ID: <618@bbncca.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 12-Mar-84 10:47:40 EST
Article-I.D.: bbncca.618
Posted: Mon Mar 12 10:47:40 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Mar-84 19:38:05 EST
References: <614@bbncca.ARPA> <1411@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 31

***
12 March 1984.

	Recently, I suggested eliminating public schools as a
means of handling the 'school prayer' dispute.  Greg Skinner
(decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!gds) took issue with me, saying

	>> You cannot be serious about this.  Most US families
	>>      cannot afford to send their youngsters to private
	>>      elementary and/or high school.

	However, if public schools are eliminated, then the
resultant tax drain on the parents will be lessened, easing the
crunch.  (I come from a lower-middle class background, and went
to private schools for all but three years of my education, as
did my brothers and sisters.)

	One additional problem this would handle is the following.
We have a national ruckus being raised over the quality of public
schools.  Do we need more money?  More discipline?  Better
teachers? (Etc.)  If schools were all privately run, they would
be forced to become more competitive (and hence do a better job
of educating children) or go out of business.  

	Divergent opinions welcomed.
-- 
		        -- cheers,
			   Mike Simpson, BBN
			   msimpson@bbn-unix (ARPA)
			   {decvax,linus,wjh12}!bbncca!msimpson (Usenet)
			   617-497-2819 (Ma Bell)