Separation of School and State?: A noble, but perhaps impractical, idea
In my exploration of other blogs for discussions about issues relevant to my purpose here, I discovered a movement out there called Alliance for the Separation of School and State which proposes completely removing government control or involvement at any level in public schools.http://www.sepschool.org/
They cite many reasons why government control of schools has diminished education to something almost meaningless and robbed children of their ability to reason and of the important development of moral character. I heartily agree with most of their analysis of the problems. Indeed, I have always believed that the government-controlled k-12 mass education process in our country has become like an assembly line, churning out "citizens" who by graduation will be robbed of all their individuality and made to look like clones. I have also, as a Christian, wondered, how did I ever come to have such a stromg biblical worldview considering that I had my religious education relegated to a couple hours one day of the week, versus my state education swallowing up most of my life? Well that's' another story in itself.
What I want to say about this separation of school and state movement, is that while it is noble and well intended, and even right on many points, the question that must be asked is "what about the poor?" How will you provide equal education for all? I discovered that they do address this very question on their website, and I am completely unsatisfied with the answer. They purport that the one third of America's children who will need assistance will be provided scholarships by generous givers whose money to give will have been freed up by the abolishment of taxes formerly used to fund government schools.
I think they put to much faith in humankind. Of course, this movement is primarily led by conservative Christian folks who simply want to give their children the education they would want for them, rather than some state-mandated hollow curriculum. I fully support their right to be able to do that. (In fact, I may excercise such a right myself for my own future children). However, I seriously question whether so many of the "generous, Christian" folks out there will actually care enough about others' children that that they would give so generously to a fund to pay for their education. Let's look at the state of Chrstian private education today. It consists primarily of two types: Fairly wealthy, culturally homogenous schools in suburban areas--Disadvantaged families overwhelmingly can't afford to pay tuition, or provide transportation to get their kids to these remotely located schools. And the second type--underresouced, poor, inner-city Christian schools housed in dilapidated buildings and struggling to pay the bills to keep the lights on.
If this is the situation now, how would it differ any after government schools were abolished? Again, I agree that government schools are a major failure. And I think the government's role in determining "standardized" curriculum and mandating certain policies must be greatly diminished. As a Christian public educator, I know that I have to wrestle with the tension between instilling in my students what I believe to be of utmost importance, and the fact of having my hands tied by the state. However, I am also firmly committed to the cause of social justice. And I would plead with anyone who is signed on to this movement, to require that it provide a plausible alternative which would guarantee equal access and opportunity to the poor and underprivileged, and not merely a theory that it will all work out based on faulty "free-market" education logic.
7:25:55 PM 
|
|
