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From: bnapl@burdvax.UUCP (Tom Albrecht)
Newsgroups: net.kids,net.politics
Subject: Re: School taxes -- defining the problem
Message-ID: <1860@burdvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 12-Dec-84 21:44:37 EST
Article-I.D.: burdvax.1860
Posted: Wed Dec 12 21:44:37 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Dec-84 05:01:28 EST
References: <3129@alice.UUCP> 
Reply-To: bnapl@burdvax.UUCP (Tom Albrecht)
Organization: Burroughs Corp. - SDG/Devon
Lines: 51
Xref: watmath net.kids:789 net.politics:6302
Summary: 

In article  faustus@ucbcad.UUCP writes:
>> There are really three separate issues to be considered
>> when thinking about education:
>> 
>> 	1. Should the government be in the school business?
>> 
>> 	2. Should everyone be required to go to school?
>> 
>> 	3. Should people be forced to pay for others' education?
>
>Yes to 2. I don't think that the merits of universal literacy need to
>be brought up -- an end to compulsory education would mean a return
>to the dark ages. 3 follows from 2, and I think 1 also follows from
>2. If anybody has any ideas about how to do this without government
>support, I'd be happy to hear them.
>
>	Wayne

I say no to 2.  By compulsory education do you mean compulsory attendance at 
a day school? A number of educators (John Holt and Raymond Moore among others) 
have pointed out that literacy in this country has actually declined since
the advent of "compulsory education/attendance".  If you
don't believe me read what these people are saying. 

We tend to have a rather short-sighted view of education and
forget from whence we came.  John Adams said in 1765 that "a native
of America, especially of New England, who cannot read and write
is as rare a Phenomenon as a Comet."[1]   We may want to adopt a
broader definition of the word "literacy" to include other
necessary functionality, but strictly speaking, the 18th and
19th centuries were not what you would call "dark ages".

The public schools are, by and large, failing our youth today.  Their
promises are much more than they can reasonably deliver.  My wife and
I chose to remove our son from the public schools and educate
him ourselves.  It wasn't an easy decision, and we certainly are
getting a lot of flack from our school officials, but believe me it
was well worth it.  We have constructed an individualized
curriculum for him and he has responded well to the personal
attention he is now getting.  Home-schooling isn't an option for
everyone, but it is one worth looking into if you really care for
your child's well-being.


[1] Diary and Autobiography of John Adams (L. Butterfield, ed.,
    Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1961)


-- 
Tom Albrecht 		Burroughs Corp.
			...{presby|psuvax1|sdcrdcf}!burdvax!bnapl