Career Planning
What do you want to do with your life when you graduate high school? What do you love doing? What are you really good at? Your life can go by very quickly, so it’s important to think about your future career plans. The following resources can help you with these important decisions.
Career Planning – Career Planning Guide
Jul 13, 2009 … Career planning resources including career change, career choice andcareer advancement.
| Self Assessment | About.com Careers |
Career Test | Career Counseling & Coaching
Career test, career advice and career counseling to put your career back on track. As featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company Magazine and What … -
Career Planning Process
When you choose a career you should go through a four step process – These four steps are self, options, match, and action – Learn what all this means and …
Career and College Planning Web Resources
Feb 19, 2009 … Career and college planning resources including links to interest surveys, college application help, SAT tutorials and career counseling.
Career Planning – Career Wheel
Career planning is an ongoing process. Regardless of your age, it is important to assess where you are if you are to meet your goals and turn your dreams …
Career Planning Information from ACT
Career planning is a process. Explore your career options, read our career planning tips, see apprenticeship information, and explore the world of work map …
College Planning for Gifted Students: Choosing and Getting Into … – Google Books Result
by Sandra L. Berger – 2006 – Study Aids – 231 pages
Sandra Berger, a nationally recognized expert on college and career planning for gifted students, provides a hands-on, practical guide to college planning in…
Kuder-Career Assessment, Education and Career Planning, Career …
The leading provider of reliable Internet-based solutions that help students and adults achieve their educational and career planning goals, …
Job-Search for college-aged job seekers
Financial Planning: Discover the Rewards of a Career in Financial Planning … Apply these athletic habits to your career planning. …
Missouri Connections
Explore sites about career planning including forums, online journals, writing letters, and more.
Career Planning – Sloan Career Cornerstone Center: Careers in …
The following excerpts from Cornerstone profiles offer suggestions regarding career planning, or how their own career plans shifted over time: …
BGSU :: Career Center :: Career Center
BGSU Career Center Career Planning Process. … The first step in the Career PlanningModel involves gathering information about yourself to assist in …
Career Planning – LIScareer.com — The Librarian & Information …
May 26, 2008 … Career Planning. This topic includes why should one be a librarian; careeroptions; a description of your position or type of job; …
Career Planning Guide
CAREER EXPLORATION LINKS List of Career Exploration Web Sites. ABOUT About theCareer Planning … What courses will lead me toward my current career goals? …
Career Planning
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor: Career Planning: Comprehensive … Job Star: This site is packed with information about planning your career. …
career planning | ITworld
Jun 22, 2009 … News, Reviews and Product Information on career planning.
Rutgers: Career Services (Career Planning – High School Students)
May 28, 2009 … Welcome to the Rutgers University pre-college career planning site! The information in this section will help you begin your career …
Career Planning Services
Career Planning Services provides a broad range of services, including individual career planning, resume and cover letter development, interview training, …
Career Planning and Management Inc.
Career Planning and Management Inc. offers career development programs for
Career Planning for Gifted and Talented Youth
Apr 20, 2000 … There is no need for career planning: The student is simply expected to make an occupational decision around the sophomore year of college …
Career Planning Resources
Check out the Book Titles for suggested readings to help you plan your career, get a search started, or write a resume. Articles related to nonacademic …
blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Career Planning, part 1 …
Sep 30, 2007 … The first rule of career planning: Do not plan your career. The world is an incredibly complex place and everything is changing all the time …
About.com Careers
(Career Planning / Job Searching Continued) … From Dawn Rosenberg McKay, Your Guide to Career Planning. If you’re an actor, San Francisco may offer you …
ACT’s Career Planning Survey
The ACT Career Planning Survey is a comprehensive career guidance program preparing students (grades 8-10) to make informed education and career decisions …
The National Academies National Academies
The National Academies have published several reports related to career planning, including a series of publications ranking U.S. doctoral programs in …
College Career Life Planning
Hundreds of free education and career planning tools for students, teachers, parents and counselors.
Career Planning Resources – Peter Vogt, M.S., President – Author ...
Peter Vogt/Career Planning Resources Affiliations … |Contact Us|Home|. Copyright © 1999-2007, Career Planning Resources. All rights reserved. …
Career Planning Begins with Assessment ~ The National …
Jan 8, 2009 … Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges …
A Career Planning Course for Parents
A Career Planning Course for Parents. By Sally Kearsley. Your son or daughter just left for (or returned to) college but doesn’t seem to have a clue as to …
Focus Career Planning System
Selling a career and education planning system for use by students, job changers, or persons returning to the workplace and retirement planners seeking new …
Career Planning Center | College of the Holy Cross
The Career Planning Center assists students in identifying and clarifying their careerobjectives, teaches skills and strategies for conducting a successful …
Career Training Program & Career Planning | Hubbard College of …
A successful career takes career training and planning.
College and Career Planning from MyRoad.com
The most comprehensive resource for education and career decision making. Determine your personality type, explore college majors, colleges, and careers.
Spelman College: Current Students
Sponsored by the Office of Career Planning and Development, the fair offers Spelmanites the opportunity to meet and interact with multiple employers seeking …
Career Planning K-12
The templates and the career planning process outlined on this site are copyrighted, and all rights are reserved worldwide. No part of this site may be …
Careers in Medicine: Online Career Resources
Career planning resources and links for the careers in medicine program.
Careers in Science and Engineering: A Student Planning Guide to …
It is supplemented by the Internet Career Planning Center For Beginning Scientists and Engineers, which can be reached via the Academies’ homepage at …
Free Career Test
Career planning guidance — free online career test and assessment tools for careerinformation on which jobs are best for you.
Welcome to Virginia’s College and Career Planning System
We are sorry to announce the Commonwealth of Virginia has decided not to provide Virginia’sCareer Planning System, powered by Kuder® to Virginia schools …
Career Planning – University of Miami | School of Law
For more information related to career planning and professional development, including events, opportunities and tips, be sure to visit the CDO blog. …
blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Career Planning, part 2 …
Oct 1, 2007 … Please read my opening disclaimers. Note especially that these are only personal views; I am not trying to malign anyone else’s choice of …
Career Planning Resources – National Postdoctoral Association …
There is an evergrowing list of useful guides to career planning for those with a PhD or research background. Here are a few places to start. …
Career Planning | Resumes, Interviews, Job Searches
As your graduation approaches, the Career Planning Center will help you to map your future… The Career Planning Center develops and provides a structured …
Career Planning and Counseling
Career planning, services, choices, tests, counseling and more, all on the Web.
DISCOVER: ACT’s Career Planning Program
DISCOVER is ACT’s comprehensive career guidance and information system that helps individuals make important career and educational decisions whether they …
CPAD Network
The Career Planning & Adult Development Network keeps you in touch with other careercounselors, career coaches, job search trainers and human resource …
Career Center – Planning Your Future
Sep 20, 2006 … To help you piece everything together, use the Career Center’s career planning resources. Select a Decision Scenario that most closely …
NCDA: National Career Development Association
This is a guide to career planning, exploration, and decision making for young persons aged 15 to 24 with interactive tools that can be used as they work …-
Student Career Planning
Strategic career planning is an essential part of your working life. From your first job to your last, career planning is an ongoing endeavor in which …
Careers & Networking – Fairfield University Campus Life Career …
Attend an info session, work on your resume with the Career Planning Center, practice interviewing, and take advantage of internships with local companies. …
Explore Rising Documents | Scribd
Top Ten Reasons to Stop Facing Reality by Sue F… Create the career (and life) you want with this practical guide to success and abundance. …
Career Planning & Exploration
In addition to these 60-minute, real-time Web presentations, Alumni CareerShape will also include career planning materials, online assessments and …
St. Edward’s University: Career Planning
Student / Alumni Career Services · Employer Services · Job, Internship and Volunteer Opportunities · Calendar of Events · Career Planning Home …
The Independent | Career Planning | Career Planning Advice ...
Read the latest Career Planning articles. Find out more about your Career, Job Hunting and various other topics about your career.
BGSU :: Career Center :: Career Center
Career Center-YouTube · Co-ops & Internships-YouTube · Student Employment-YouTube.CAREER DEVELOPMENT ♦ Career Planning Process ♦ Occupational Research …
Career Planning
The first step in your career-planning process is to obtain a good understanding of your interests, values, and skills. A career counselor can assist you in …
Cost of Living Comparison Data for U.S./Canada
ERI Career and Cost of Living Calculators provide salary and cost of living data. These applications are designed to assist in planning career goals and to …
Counseling and Career Planning
Career Planning & Development Choosing a major involves several aspects. Job outlook and potential salary are important issues, but look for a career you …
Caltech .. CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER .. Career Planning ..
Whether you’re interested in pursing an MD, MD/PhD, DDS, PharmD, or any other health-related career, advising is available on an appointment basis. …
Career Vision: Career Planning Resources for Parents
Career Vision offers planning resources for parents. Our consulting services and educational programs offer the benefit of information and support needed …
Career Planning Tips
The 9 most important career planning tips is listed below: … Before you start planning your future career, be sure you have identified your dream job. …
Counseling and Career Planning Services
UALR’s Office of Counseling and Career Planning offers assistance in personal counseling,career and educational planning, and the job search. …
Sloan Career Cornerstone Center: Careers in Science, Technology ...
Explore over 185 degree fields and find out about education requirements, salaries, networking, precollege ideas, and career planning resources. …
Career Planning & Life Planning
May 15, 2009 … “The UC Irvine Career Planning & Life Planning Programs are awesome for anyone who has lost their job or just going through a career change. …
Career Planning | UW School of Law
The Office of Career Planning and Public Service invites students to partner in advancing their careers by providing career coaching, …
Career Planning Services
involved in counseling others about job opportunities,; thinking about a career,; contemplating a career change,; involved in education planning, …
College Scholarships and Grants
Below are websites that offer valuable resources on finding college scholarships and grants to pay for your college or university tuition. I hope these resources help you find a scholarship or grant to the college of your choice. Work hard in college and don’t waste your time. You will be laying the foundation for your future through your studies and college degree. Good luck.
Free College Grants to Pay for Your Higher Education
Apply to receive funding for attending a college or university. If eligible, you can get financial aid and not have to pay it back.
College Scholarships.org – Helping Students Pay for College Since 1999
College Grant and Student Loan Information also Available. Besides scholarships, you can receive other financial aid in the form of grants and student loans …
By State - Minority - Grants - By Student Type
Scholarship Search – Find Scholarships Online Free - Grants …
Free online college scholarship search. More than 2300 sources of college funding, totaling nearly $3 BILLION in available aid. Scholarships, internships …
FastWeb : Scholarships, Financial Aid, Student Loans and Colleges
Jul 9, 2009 … Search for scholarships with our free scholarship matching service, get student financial aid and find money to pay for college at FastWeb.
FREE Guide to All Government Grants, Scholarships and Loans for …
FEDMONEY.org is a FREE online resource on all US government student financial aid programs. Detailed information about over 130 loans and grants …
Scholarships – Student Scholarship Search
Student Scholarship Search provides students and parents with a FREE searchable database of college scholarships and grants. No registration required. …
Scholarships - College Grants - Graduate School Scholarships
Scholarships.com – Wacky, Weird College Scholarships & Grants
So take the time to search for those wacky, weird college scholarships based on your unique talents. You never know what unusual college scholarships you …
Scholarships.com - College Scholarships and Grants, Grants and …
Myriad college scholarships and grants are out there, ones that you are … Some only award college scholarships and grants to students who major in …
students.gov – Student Gateway to the U.S. Government
Financial aid overviews » · Scholarships & grants » · Research funding/fellowships …Relocating to college » · Student consumer info » · Healthy living …
Nationally Coveted College Scholarships & Graduate Fellowships
Free financial aid, grants, student loans, prizes, stipends. … College Scholarships for Rising Juniors and Seniors in Fields Related to the Environment …
News results for college scholarships and grants
Teaching Scholarships And Grants For Students - 5 hours ago
Microsoft College Scholarships – Microsoft Corporation (MSN) is a … Siemens TeacherScholarships – In partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, …
Free US College Grants – Get the Grants Money You Need
College Scholarships – Online Degree Programs – Colleges
Information on college scholarships and financial aid, free college scholarship searches, …and obtain information on athletic scholarships and grants. …
SuperCollege : College : Win scholarships and grants, get …
Free database of college scholarships, college and university search, admissions and financial aid secrets for essays, applications, and interviews, …
UNCF
To Apply for any of the below scholarships, click one of the scholarships listed … If you are a student attending a UNCF member college or university, …
School Grants, College Scholarships, Student Financial Aid And …
School grants, college scholarships and student loans are a great way to pay for a collegeeducation. Getting financial aid for schoolUsing college grants …
students.gov – Student Gateway to the U.S. Government
Scholarships & grants. All · Scholarship search directories · Private scholarships … A scholarship is money for college that you will not be expected to …
College Scholarships and Grants – Find Money for College
Use our scholarship search service to help you find legitimate college scholarships and grants. Also find information and resources to help you avoid …
Scholarships.Free Scholarships, Grants for College, Fellowships …
Yes, keep me informed about the latest scholarships, student loan and aid offers, and other information and offers relevant to my college education. …
Careers And Colleges .com – Find Scholarships, College Grants …
Register for free to access to over $7 billion in scholarships and college grants. Search for the college that best fits you and the student loans to pay …
Scholarships, College Grants, New Financial Aid Guidebook!
Scholarships Grants, College Financial Aid Guidebook. Complete financial aid reference source for high school students and parents. Order On Line!
Government Grants Loans Scholarships Co. 888-384-9608 24hrs
Free Government Grants, Co. offers guaranteed results when searching for free money,scholarships, college loans, student grants and more.
Scholarships & Grants – Financial Aid | Wartburg College, Waverly …
Other grants may also be available. Contact the Admissions Office for details. … WartburgCollege Funded, Endowed Scholarships $50-$2500 per year …
College Scholarships and Financial Aid Information for Students …
Any student looking for financial assistance for his college education should know whatscholarships, educational grants, and student loans are. …
CFNC – Paying For College - Scholarships and Grants
Other Scholarships & Grants … North Carolina 4-H Development Fund Scholarships …browse through our tutorial called Paying for College. …
College scholarships, College grants – CollegeLoan.com
College Scholarships – Learn about college scholarships and college grants! CLC can help you find free money so you may not have to borrow.
College scholarships, school scholarship, grants, education
Free college scholarships provides money for school and your education. Register for your chance to win a $10000 college scholarship.
Barton College: Scholarships & Grants
However, the total amount of grants and scholarships from all institutional sources may not exceed the total cost of attendance. …
Pima Community College : Scholarships and Grants
Pima Community College helps students achieve their dreams through scholarships and grants. Raytheon Scholars Program The Raytheon Scholars program accepts …
FinAid | Scholarships
FinAid has compiled a comprehensive list of college scholarships for students under age 13 and … To find out about contest, grants and other aid options, …
Finding College Scholarships and Grants | University Parent Media
College scholarships and grants are readily available to students willing to do the research and pay attention to the rules, requirements and other “details …
Houghton College: Scholarships & Grants
Houghton College grants are typically awarded to students on the basis of financial … at least half-tuition in Houghton College grants and scholarships. …
Erie Community College :: Scholarships and Grants
The ECC Foundation has a comprehensive listing of grants and scholarships which are available to ECC students. This includes both scholarships which are …
Florida Christian College - Scholarships & Grants
Scholarships & Grants. Scholarships … there is no financial aid available specifically for international students at Florida Christian College. …
Bryan College Scholarships and Grants
Bryan College Scholarships and Grants. Presidential Scholarship. $7000 – $10000. Incoming freshmen with a 3.6 high school GPA and 28 ACT or 1240 SAT. …
College Scholarships and grants can help you finance your education
Learn about college scholarships, state grants and other resources to help finance your DeVry education.
College Scholarships and Grants
Assistance with FAFSA, first step for most types of financial aid, including: College Scholarships and Grants, State Grants and Scholarships, …www.fafsa.com/forms/ajax/…/
Toccoa Falls College : Scholarships and Grants
TFC offers institutional scholarships and grants to qualified incoming students. Eligibility requirements and amounts vary. Institutional aid will not …
www.tfc.edu/scholarships-and-grants.html - Cached - Similar -
Latest News About College Scholarships And Grants.
A collection of articles about college grants in aid and minority scholarships.
Wayne College - Scholarships & Grants Page
SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS. Scholarship Information & Financial Aid Assistance Chart. NOTE: Click for Wayne College Scholarship Information and Financial Aid …
College Scholarships, Financial Aid and Grants
Key Strategies to Pay for College; Bachelor’s & Master’s Degrees Online; FindingScholarships and Grants; Dynamic Alternative Funding Options …
Student Loans College Scholarships and Grants
Feb 6, 2009 … A college scholarship should be top of your funding and loan list since this is money which you do not have to repay.
Guaranteed Scholarships and Financial Aid
A listing of guaranteed scholarships, financial aid, grants, … Half-tuition scholarships to all students who have completed a college prep curriculum and …
Hispanic Scholarship Fund - College scholarships and grants for …
Jun 2, 2008 … Many organizations have college scholarships and grants for Latino students, including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
Undergraduate Catalogue – Edgewood College Scholarships and Grants …
Edgewood College Scholarships and Grants. Financing a college education is an important investment that requires many resources. The Financial Aid office …
College Scholarships, Grants and Work-Study – Student Finance Domain
Student Aid Resources: Pay for college with non-loan options such as work-study, the Montgomery GI Bill, community service, ROTC and tuition payment plans.
Wheelock College - Scholarships and Grants
Wheelock College is offering scholarships to incoming first-year students for the fall of 2009. To be eligible you must apply for admission to Wheelock by …
Scholarships for Moms
Do you know that up to 70% of the total number of college students have scholarships, educational grants or other student aids to back them up? …
WELCOME TO SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS — Hunter College
WELCOME TO SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS. g&s_title.gif. Introduction Financial Aid HunterCollege Scholarships Private Scholarships & Grants Tuition & Fees …
FCS Newsletter – State Scholarships and Grants
Jun 22, 2009 … In this newsletter we’re providing two scholarships and one scholarship database. ScholarshipSolution takes only a few minutes to enter and …
Curry College - Scholarships and Grants
Curry offers students both merit aid (scholarships) and need based aid (Curry grants).Scholarships are generally awarded to acknowledge prior academic …
Iowa 4-H Youth Development
Other Scholarships, Grants, & Awards. Other Scholarship Programs for eligible 4-H’ers (PDF); Loras College 4-H Meehan Scholarship
Educations Grants, Free College Grant, School grants, Pell grant …
Are you looking for Free College Education Scholarships or Free school pell Grants? AtCollege Scholarships Grants we provide prospect students with all the …
Davidson College- Scholarships and Grants for Study Abroad
Sep 3, 2008 … Scholarship and Grant Opportunities for Study Abroad Davidson is a nationally recognized and highly selective liberal arts college near …
Study Abroad Scholarships & Financial Aid from IES Abroad
Disability Grants · Public University Grants · Special Discounts · Additional Resources … We also strongly encourage you to apply for outside scholarships in … Remember outsidescholarships will have different guidelines and …
Georgia Gwinnett College - Scholarships and Grants
The Federal Pell Grant is a federally funded program that provides need-based grants to undergradu¬ate students who have not earned a bachelor’s degree. …
College Scholarships – free scholarship grants program
Learn about college scholarships — Step by step guide to free scholarships and grants. Visit collegeboard.com for details.
Finding College Scholarships and Grants | University Parent Media
Oct 27, 2008 … College scholarships and grants are readily available to students willing to do the research and pay attention to the rules, …
www.universityparent.com/…/72a2153aaa5d030f88638d6f1e93b12f -Cached - Similar -
New Mexico Junior College - Scholarships and Grants
Scholarships and Grants. Scholarships are awarded by Enrollment Services, the NMJC Foundation, … 1996-2009 New Mexico Junior College * All Rights Reserved.
Scholarships and Grants
Sep 24, 2008 … Huntingdon College scholarships and grants are available to full-time students only. It is important to know that Huntingdon College …
Free College Scholarships & Grants: Scholarship Facts & Tips …
Free College Scholarships & Grants. Part of the series: Scholarship Facts & Tips. Freecollege scholarships and grants can be applied for through the …
Scottsdale Community College - Scholarships, Loans, Grants and …
Apr 28, 2008 … Scholarships, Loans, Grants and Employment. Earning your degree or certificate at Scottsdale Community College means you are getting one of …
Alma College: Scholarships and Other Aid
All Alma College Scholarships and grants are awarded for a maximum of four years (eight semesters). Students with bachelor’s degrees do not receive Alma …
Midland Lutheran College - Scholarships & Grants
The College awards a significant amount of its own money each year in the form ofscholarships and grants to students enrolled full-time in a semester-based …
College Scholarships & Grants: Avoiding Common Scholarship Scams
Learn how to protect yourself and your money from college scholarship scams. CollegeView offers helpful advice, as well as a free search tool for legitimate …
Free Scholarship Guide and eBook for College Scholarships and Grants
Learn how to find free college scholarships and grant information with the Scholarship Search Secrets eBook, our free scholarship guide.
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5. Nursing Scholarships and Grants For Students
Jul 8, 2009 … Fortunately, college scholarships and grant money can help nursing students… Members may apply directly for scholarships and grants. …
FAFSA – Insider’s guide to scholarships.
FAFSA experts show you how to maximize your college financial aid. … FAFSA And Financial Aid Secrets To Maximize Your College Scholarships And Grants. …
Government Grants, Business Grants, College Scholarships From Free …
College Scholarships and Government Grants Information – Complete details on locatingcollege scholarships education grants, Pell grants. …
Saginaw College Scholarships, Grants and Educational Loans
Scholarships, grants and educational loans for high school, vocational school and collegestudents in Saginaw Michigan.
Cleveland Chiropractic College - Scholarships & Grants
There are a variety of scholarships and grants awarded by the institution as well as various chiropractic organizations and other donors. …
Free Money for College
Free money for college is available from a variety of sources and offered as scholarships and grants. Both are an attractive way to pay because you do not …
Saint Joseph College | Scholarships and Grants
Saint Joseph College Connecticut – Admissions - Scholarships and Grants.
College Scholarships and Student Grants Overview
Learn everything there is to know about getting college scholarships: where to look, qualifying, and writing essays. Free information and customized …
Scholarships & Grants | Scholarship Articles, Tips, Resources for …
Articles by college students, resources & tips on college scholarships and grants – doing a scholarship search, scholarship scams, scholarship applications, …
Scholarships & Grants – Education Articles from College Matching …
College Matching Service brings thousands of colleges to your fingertips with one simple search. Get free information to help make the right decision for …
Scholarships and Grants – Safe Schools Coalition
Jan 26, 2009 … NOTE: Many of these scholarships and grants are for youth involved in ….The Point Foundation - College Scholarships for LGBT Students …
Dowling College – Financial Aid – Dowling College Scholarships and …
Dowling College Scholarships and Grants-In-Aid. Athletic Grants · Public Service Grants · Academic Honor Scholarships
College Grants and Scholarships
Resources and information for College Grants, Student Loans and Free Scholarships.
CFNC – Paying For College – Scholarship and Grant Programs
Grants and Scholarships. North Carolina and the federal government give away millions each year to help students pay for college. …
Scholarships and Grants | Scholarship Online Resources
A valuable educational resource about scholarships and grants. Scholarships, grants, and financial aid for college, high school students, military, …
College Scholarships – Essays, Applications, Scholarship Searches …
Get the inside scoop on college scholarships, plus free tips for writing winning scholarship essays … UGMA and UTMA Accounts · Government Student Grants …
http://www.college-scholarships.com/free_scholarship_searches.htm
Dozens of college scholarship websites
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Teachers — Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Filed under: Public School Excuses, Why Public Schools Are Bad
Teachers and teacher unions are better than they think they are. They don’t have to be terrified of the free-market, and strangle parent’s free choice in how they educate their children. Public-school teachers have within them the ability to be great educators. I would like to suggest a way for them to live up to their highest potential.
The problem is the system they are trapped in. Too many teachers have become more concerned with their economic security than with realizing the best within them. This attitude is typical of many government employees. I should know, because many years ago I once worked for the City of New York, for three years.
When the City first hired me, I was young and eager. I intended to give the job my best efforts. However, I soon realized that little was expected of me. I saw the lazy attitudes of my fellow workers who had the security of tenure. Since I am only human like everyone else, I started to become like my fellow employees.
I soon realized that if I did passable work and did not make any waves, I would advance up the civil-service salary ladder just for showing up at the job. My supervisors did not make me work harder or become more competent. To make more money, I only had to grow old on the job. I quickly noticed that when I worked harder or came up with innovative ideas, I did not get paid more. I also saw that when I slacked off in my work or enthusiasm, I did not get paid less.
As a result, I gradually, insidiously, started to die inside. My spirit, initiative, and the best within me started to die. Most employees will act the same way under a similar system of rewards or punishment. If a person is not rewarded for trying harder or doing better, if he is not punished for being lazy or incompetent, most of us, myself included, become mediocre employees just putting in our time. By remaining a government employee, every undiscovered talent and possibility I had within me was being smothered in the stifling, undemanding atmosphere of government employment.
Why didn’t my government employers demand more of me? Because government agencies never go out of business—they are monopolies that stay in business whether or not they do a good job. These agencies get paid from taxes, not from individual “customers” they are supposed to be “serving.”
The public is forced to deal with civil-service employees of the Post Office, Social Security Office, or local Board of Education because these government agencies have no competitors. Worse, government employees know this. These monopoly agencies get their “customers” by force. They do not need your consent when they take your tax money or make you wait in line to see them. So if government employees or supervisors know their agency can never go out of business, if they are not afraid of being fired for incompetence, there is little incentive to work harder or innovate.
The same psychology applies in government schools. No matter how bad the public schools are, they don’t go out of business. The educrats just ask for more tax money to “fix” what they think is wrong, and the schools stay open for another fifty years, wrecking our children’s education.
In a free-market school, such things don’t happen. A private school that didn’t teach children how to read would soon lose parent’s confidence. Parents would remove their children from the school, and the school would soon be out of business. End of story.
In government schools, no matter how bad a teacher or principal is, it is almost impossible to fire him because of tenure. That would never happen in a free-market school. If students do badly because of incompetent teachers, parents will complain to the owner. The owner will quickly remove a teacher if he doesn’t improve his performance, because the owner could lose parent-customers if he doesn’t. End of story.
But government schools entrench mediocre education without hope of improvement precisely because the schools can’t go out of business and tenure protects bad teachers or principals. These schools and teachers are not accountable to parents, their true customers. That’s why so many public schools give a third-rate education to our kids.
So I offer this challenge to teachers and their unions. If you think your government schools do as good a job as private or religious schools, have the courage of your convictions, and prove it. Put your money where your mouth is. Instead of strangling parent’s freedom of choice, prove to us that you could do better.
How? Here’s a suggestion. Use your multi-millions of dollars in union dues to buy the government schools and run them as private schools, the way former Soviet Union employees bought the factories they worked in. Let us privatize the government (public) schools. Let the teacher unions buy every public school in the country. Instead of being government employees, teachers will then be shareholders in school companies they will own, like Microsoft shareholder-employees who became millionaires from their stock options.
When you, the unions and teachers, buy the schools, you will then compete with every other private school in the free-market. There will be no more compulsory-attendance laws that force parents to give you their children. There will be no more compulsory school taxes that pay your salaries.
You will compete on a level playing-field, like every other private business has to compete. You will have to prove to parents, your new customers, that you deserve to get their business and educate their children. You will have to be better than your competitors. If you teach well, you will succeed. You may even make a fortune in profits from your private schools, and congratulations if you do. If you don’t teach well, you will go out of business, as you should. Parent-consumers will decide your fate.
That being said, I predict that most of you would do great. I believe that once your unions bought the schools, your attitude and your lives would change remarkably. You would soon discover that your school’s success depended on your hard work, competence, and innovation. Fierce competition in the free market would force you to work smarter and harder and become great educators.
I believe that public-school teachers have not even begun to live up to their highest potential. All you need is to understand that the free market, rather than being your imagined worst enemy, can be your best friend.
So here’s the challenge—if you love to teach, if you think you are good educators, if you care about giving quality education to our children, prove it in the real world. Put your money where your mouth is. Pit your best against the best the free market has to offer.
Teachers, you especially will benefit from a totally free-market education system. There will be so many new schools opened, so much fierce competition for competent, innovative teachers, that teacher salaries will skyrocket.
K-12 education today is a $500 billion market, because most parents consider education as their first priority for their children. There is a huge, pent-up demand for your skills, creativity, and dedication. As a result, your incomes will rise dramatically. Your status as teachers will rise with parents as they see the new vigor and quality you bring to your profession. You will be respected and in great demand. By the way, did you know that the best private teachers in Japan are so in demand that they can earn as much as star Japanese baseball players?
So here’s the challenge I offer you. Live up to the best within you in a free-market education system, or let the best within you shrivel up in a government-run public school.
To mayors in cities across America, I extend this challenge to you. Stop wasting our children’s time and billions of our tax dollars on futile programs to “improve” the government schools. Politicians have been trying to “improve” these schools for the last fifty years, and the schools have only gotten worse. The public-school system is beyond repair because government is not the solution, it is the problem.
Instead, push to privatize the public schools in your cities. Push to get government out of the education business, once and for all. Challenge teachers to live up to their highest potential. Challenge them to consider the life-giving breath of a free-market education system. They will eventually thank you for it.
Why Public Schools Can’t Be Trusted
“Public educators, like Soviet farmers, lack any incentive to produce results, innovate, to be efficient, to make the kinds of difficult changes that private firms operating in a competitive market must make to survive.” — Carolyn Lochhead
Here’s another argument that public-school bureaucrats use to “justify” their monopoly control over our children’s minds and lives. They claim that we cannot trust the free-market to educate our children because too many free-market (private) schools are greedy for profits, cheat parents and students, take their money, make wild promises, or go out of business.
Look at the trade-school scandals a few years ago, they say. Phony trade schools cheated students with bad teaching and empty promises. This is typical of the free market, they say.
No, it is not typical — rather, the opposite.
The few bad apples in any field in the free market are just that — the exceptions. The free market has a harsh task master called competition. Fierce competition in an education free market acts the same way it does for any product we buy, whether cars, food, or computers. Fierce competition forces all competitors to keep improving their product’s quality, lowering the cost, and giving better service to their customers, or risk going out of business.
To succeed, a free-market school owner must prove that his school is better than his competitors. All free-market (private) schools have to prove their excellence to skeptical parents — their customers. If a school does not live up to its claims, parents are merciless. Like switching channels on TV, parents can and do switch to a better school, for they love their children and want their money’s worth.
Yes, there are always a few rotten apples in any field, but competition forces the vast majority of apples in the barrel to be healthy. Parents are not stupid or fools. They would quickly see if Johnny reads better or worse. It does not take four years of meaningless education courses in a so-called teacher college to figure that out. Like a rising tide, fierce competition would force all educational boats to rise. Computers get faster, cheaper, and more powerful every year. Similarly, in a free-market education system, educational quality and innovation would explode, while competition would drive down the cost of tuition.
In a fiercely-competitive education free-market, your child would quickly learn the basics in safe, competent, innovative schools, rather than wasting twelve years in violent, drug-infested, chronically-incompetent government schools.
Also, what hypocrisy for the rotten orchard of government schools to point their finger at a few bad apples in the “private” sector. For in these monopoly government schools, the situation is completely reversed. The whole system, the whole government-controlled barrel is rotten, and the education for our kids is abysmal at worst or third rate at best. In a free-market school system, the bad schools would be the exception. In a government-controlled school system, the good schools are the exception.
You see, government (public) schools are a never-ending education disaster because they have absolutely NO accountability to parents. The schools’ teachers, principals, and administrators are civil-service government workers who are paid by their local State or city government, not directly by parents (as is the case with private-school owners). Yes, there are some good, dedicated teachers in the public schools, but the system breeds mediocrity on a massive scale, and it is the system that parents have to put up with.
Year after year, compulsory taxes prop up these schools, no matter how bad they are. Compulsory school taxes also pay teachers, principals, and administrators’ salaries, no matter how bad or mediocre these tenured government employees are.
So, no matter how bad these schools are, or how miserable the education they give our kids, parents are impotent to make changes in the system. That is also because every state has compulsory attendance laws that force parents to bring their children to these government schools (if they cannot afford a private school), whether they like it or not. In effect, these schools are government-enforced education prisons, both for parents and their children.
The difference between government and free-market schools is this — when government schools are rotten, when they dumb-down our kids with nonsense education theories that fail, 45 million children can suffer for twelve years, without parents having any recourse. If and when an entrepreneur-owned free-market school is bad, only a handful of children suffer for a few months while parents shop for a better school — with parents having full recourse and freedom of choice.
Public-school apologists criticizing private-schools for allegedly not being accountable to parents is a sick joke, but a joke that is tragic for our children. To education bureaucrats who point to alleged bad apples in the “private” education sector, we can only say — “Doctor, heal thyself.”
Do Children Have A “Right” To An Education?
* Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive . . . . . those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. – C. S. Lewis
One of the most common arguments that school authorities use to justify public schools is that all children have a “right” to an education. Public-school apologists claim that all children have a right to an education, and that only the existence of a massive, compulsory, government-controlled public-school system can “guarantee” that right.
As I will explain below, the claim that all children have a right to an education ends up hurting the very children it was intended to help. I will therefore ask a seemingly shocking question – do all children have a right to an education? If they do, public-school apologists are correct in assuming that we need government to guarantee that right so no child gets left behind.
What is an economic right such as the alleged right to an education? A right means that a person has a claim on the rest of society (other Americans) to give him some product or service he wants, regardless of whether he can pay for it or not. For example, if we claimed that everyone has a right to a car, that would mean if someone couldn’t afford a car, government would give that person the money to buy it (the payment might be called a car voucher).
Similarly, if we say that all children have a right to an education, regardless of their parent’s ability to pay tuition, then only government can guarantee this alleged right. Government has to guarantee this right because no private, for-profit school will admit a student if the parents don’t pay tuition (unless the student gets a scholarship). If a private school doesn’t get paid for its services, it soon goes out of business.
Local or state governments can guarantee this alleged right in two basic ways. They can own and operate all the public schools and force all children to attend these schools, or they can give subsidies (vouchers) to parents to pay for tuition in the private school of their choice. Since most school authorities strongly oppose vouchers, that means they support only a government-controlled system of compulsory public schools and school taxes to guarantee children this alleged right to an education.
But government produces nothing by itself. Government gets its money by taxing us. To guarantee this alleged right to a product or service, government tax collectors must therefore take money from one person to give it to another. They must take from Peter to pay Paul, as the saying goes. So, in effect, a person who demands food, housing, or medical care as an alleged right, is really demanding that government tax agents steal money from his neighbor to give him an unearned benefit he didn’t work for.
Education, like housing or medical care, does not grow free in nature. Just as someone must pay doctors, nurses, and hospitals for all the services they provide, someone must also pay for teachers’ salaries, textbooks, janitorial services, and school upkeep. Other than air, nothing that we need is free.
The average public school now gets over $7,500 a year per student, paid from compulsory taxes. To guarantee education as a “right,” local, state, and federal governments must tax all Americans to pay for public schools. All of us are taxed, whether or not we have school-age children or think these schools are worth paying for. So when some parents claim that their children have a right to an education, they are really demanding that their local or state government steal money from their neighbors to pay for their children’s education.
Here’s an analogy that might help clarify this issue. Imagine that your unemployed neighbor comes to you and asks you to lend him money to pay for his children’s education. You reply that, though you sympathize with his problem, your answer is no. He responds by saying that he is poor, points out that you have a big house and a job, and insists that his children have a “right” to an education. You say, “Sorry, my answer is still no because I need my money for my own children’s education.” Suppose that your neighbor then gets real mad, pulls out a gun, puts it to your head, and says, “I asked you nicely. I told you my children need an education. You have a job, and I’m unemployed, so you have a moral duty to give me your money.” Then he clicks back the hammer on the gun.
Does your neighbor have the right to put a gun to your head and steal your money because his children “need” an education? He has no such right. Nor does he, or any number of your neighbors, have the right to rob you by getting government to be their enforcer – by pressuring local governments to take your money through school taxes. Any school system that uses compulsory taxes is a system based on the notion that theft is moral if it’s for a good cause. No goal, not even educating children, justifies legalized theft.
It is only natural that all parents want the best education for their children, but do good intentions justify stealing from your neighbor? A mugger on the street who puts a knife to your throat and demands your money also has good intentions – he wants to make his life better with your money. One of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shalt not steal.” It does not say, “Thou shalt not steal, except if you need tuition money to educate your child.” Since no one has a right to steal from his neighbor, no one, including children, has a “right” to an education.
Some might argue that I may be correct on this issue when it comes to adults, but surely we can’t punish innocent children for their parent’s failures? Just because parents are poor or unemployed, why should innocent children suffer and be denied an education? The answer to that question is one that many people find hard to accept, yet it is true – there are no guarantees in life, not for adults or for children. Good intentions to alleviate a problem do not justify hurting other people by stealing from them. Two wrongs do not make a right.
Moreover, if we agree that children have a right to an education because their parents are poor, then shouldn’t they also have a right to food, a bicycle, a nice house in the suburbs, and designer clothes? If poor kids (and all children) have an alleged right to an education, don’t they also have an alleged right to everything else that other kids have whose parents are well-off? Why not then say that anyone, poor, middle-class, or rich who has less money than his neighbor, has the “right” to steal from his neighbor? Where do we stop if some people can legally steal from others because they claim their kids need this or that?
The answer is, we don’t stop, and we haven’t stopped. That is why our country has turned into a devouring welfare state that is drowning in debt. When I use the word “welfare,” I don’t mean only for the poor. Rich, poor, and middle-class alike in America now claim the right to everything from corporate tax breaks and subsidies, to price supports for farmers, to Medicare, to rent subsidies for unwed mothers. When we let government steal money from taxpayers to give unearned benefits or subsidies to special-interest groups, we open up a Pandora’s box. We become a nation of thieves stealing from each other. Is this what we want America to become?
It is true that a free market does not and can not guarantee that all children have enough to eat or live in a comfortable house. Likewise, a free-market education system in which all parents have to pay for their children’s education obviously can’t guarantee a quality education for every child.
However, government-controlled public schools also can’t guarantee that every child gets a quality education. These failed schools can barely teach our children to read. Also, neither system can make guarantees because there are no guarantees in life, and because each child’s abilities, personality, and family background are so different that such guarantees are impossible. The real question, then, is not which system is perfect, but which system is more likely to give the vast majority of children a quality education that most parents could afford?
Public schools fail and betray millions of children, year after year. The only “right” the public-school system gives to school children is the right to suffer through a mind-numbing, third-rate education for twelve years.
In contrast, the free-market, while not perfect, gives us all the wondrous goods and services we buy every day, such as cars, fresh food, computers, refrigerators, and televisions. The superbly efficient and competitive free market gives us all these marvelous products at prices that most people can afford. Even the poorest American families today have a car, refrigerator, and sometimes two televisions in their homes. If we want to discover which system would give the vast majority of children a quality education at reasonable prices, I think we have the answer – the free market, hands down.
We therefore don’t need a failed public-school system to enforce an alleged right to an education, when there is no such right in the first place. Each parent should be responsible for paying for their own children’s education, just as they pay for their children’s food or clothing.
Finally, public-school apologists use this alleged right to an education to justify keeping the public-school dinosaur alive, in spite of these schools’ never-ending failure. Many public-school apologists who claim that children have a right to an education do so out of good intentions. They want to give all children a chance to get a decent education. But good intentions mean worse than nothing if they lead to dismal consequences. This alleged right to an education lets government bureaucrats have tyrannical control over our children’s minds and future.
The “right” to an education requires a massive government-controlled public-school system to enforce that right. But it is this same public-school system that cripples the education and lives of millions of children. So, ironically, the alleged right to an education is the worst thing we can offer our children.
Most low-income families don’t need government education handouts anymore in the form of allegedly “free” public schools. Parents today can buy quality, low-cost food in a competitive, free-market food industry full of grocery stores and supermarkets. In the same way, parents today can give their kids a quality education using low-cost Internet private schools and homeschooling.
Only when we reject the notion that all children have a “right” to an education will we get government out of the education business, permanently. Only a fiercely-competitive free-market education system can give kids the quality, low-cost education they deserve.
Caitlin’s Homeschool Story — What Childrens’ Education CAN Be
Parents, do you have young children or teenagers who can’t read or write, are scared of math, and are falling behind and miserable in public school? Do you want your children to go to college and have a good life, or end up in low-paying dead-end jobs, courtesy of a public-school education? Do you want the best for your children, or is “good enough,” good enough for your children?
The following letter to College Admission boards by Caitlin Guthrie Freeman describes her experiences as a homeschooled student. Her letter will give you an idea of what homeschooling (or low-cost Internet private schools) can be like for your children. This is just one homeschooling student’s experience, but it reveals the typical enthusiasm and passion for learning that your child can get from homeschooling:
“I am writing this letter in the hope of answering the two questions that you might have for any homeschooler: Why do I homeschool, and How do I do it?
After graduating from the Antioch School, a private alternative school connected with Antioch College, I decided to spend my seventh grade year at Ridgewood, a private prep school. This was instead of going on to Yellow Springs Junior High like most of my friends. I chose Ridgewood primarily for one reason: the students. They were happy, lively, accepting, and seemed very interested in their work.
Although I received very good grades, and did very well academically at Ridgewood, I found that my learning was very controlled and prescribed. At the Antioch School I had always been encouraged to take charge of my own learning. But at Ridgewood everyone was expected to move along with everyone else, plodding at a universal pace that was too fast for some and infinitely too slow for others. It was expected that we would accommodate our learning for the good of the class; no one was allowed to move out of the mundane rhythm and learn for themselves. Our minds were not our property, they belonged to a communal brain bank and no one could make a withdrawal without their other classmates taking out the exact same amount. For example, although grammar had always been very easy for me, and though I had always received “A”s, I was still often expected to complete four grammar assignments per night along with everyone else in the class, whether or not I needed them. I often found I did not have the time for my own interests or my own learning.
I left Ridgewood for the last time in June of 1993 with a firm idea in my head: I was not going back the next year; I was going to homeschool. My parents and I had discussed this at length during the second half of my seventh grade year. There was so much I wanted to do, so many things I wanted to accomplish that I knew would not be possible if I remained at Ridgewood. So, that last day, after saying farewell to my friends and telling them I would not be returning the next year, I finally started to live my life.
That first year of homeschool was filled with such an incredible sense of elation. I had the sense of limitless time, and the feeling I could learn everything and accomplish anything. Each day I had hundreds of little grab bags set before me, each filled with something new to experience, new to learn. I was free and encouraged to plunge my eager hands into as many of these grab bags of knowledge as I could. I became enamored of archaeology and paleontology, and poured at length over my many references and fact finders.
I read Isaac Asimov’s The Realm of Algebra as part of my math course. I discovered a love of Shakespeare and that I had a knack for learning and comprehending his rich language after being cast in Twelfth Night. I worked on a public access television show and got to conduct a special television interview with children’s author, Virginia Hamilton. I began singing with the Dayton Choral Academy. I also discovered opera that year, and found that I could not get enough of Le Nozze di Figaro, Faust, and Die Zauberflote. I became a member of the Yellow Springs High School Drama Club, and acted in my first pre-professional musical, Jesus Christ, Superstar, under the superb direction of Marcia C. Nowik. It was an amazing year, filled with freedom, learning, field trips, theatre performances, and all sorts of other experiences.
Today, as I look back on that first homeschool year, I realize that, although I have matured and changed, my love and drive for acquiring knowledge is still as strong — I am still as elated by the process of learning as I was in eighth grade. I am still just as busy; my days are still as packed with activity as when I was fourteen.
This I hope, gives a sense of why I home school. Now let me explain how I do it. In between the intense bursts of driven energy that make up all my classes, I relax, or read, or work with my friends. Some are homeschoolers, some are not, some live in Yellow Springs, and some live hundreds or even thousands of miles away and keep in touch with me over the Internet. My life is far from being socially empty as some believe homeschoolers’ lives must be. I converse on-line each day with people I met while at Interlochen Arts Camp, and consider them to be some of my best friends. Really good friends are hard to come by, and it really doesn’t matter whether they are across the country or right next door.
My homeschooling friends have taught me that there are about as many ways to homeschool as there are homeschoolers. I have one friend whose work is completely unstructured. She learns by employing only hands on techniques (creating a budget or measuring ingredients to bake a cake is her math program; her English and grammar come from reading and writing). There are many homeschoolers who employ this unschooling approach to learning, and for many it is very successful.
I have another friend, however, whose entire life is structure. She works completely out of text books and school curricula, reading only to write book reports, studying and learning only for the next homework assignment. She studied at home with an extremely accelerated curriculum for two years, and then graduated to go to college at the age of fifteen.
Although I chose to homeschool to free my schedule, to open up new possibilities for learning, and to allow myself more time to accomplish my own work, being busy creates its own schedule. I have to have a definite routine to accomplish what I want to. It is a routine I set for myself — or that is often set for me by my many outside classes: French, Italian, voice lessons, Shakespeare, Theatre, and Horseback.
If I do have a free space that has not been scheduled with a class or my homework, I always seem to find something to fill it. I keep to a regular practice schedule for voice, and always do math and French each weekday morning. I read, write, do science or history, and often do more French in the afternoon. In addition, I have my lessons.
It is a bit of a paradox. I both have what seems like unlimited time to complete projects, and extreme time constraints brought on by my homework, lessons, and classes. However, I do have a flexibility which allows me to prioritize and alter my schedule when some opportunity comes up. This January, for instance, I may be traveling to New York City to attend the 10th Anniversary performance of The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber. But there is always daily practice and the responsibilities of classes, homework, rehearsals and performances. I am always busy.
Many of my classes are basically self taught in that I am both the teacher and the student, although they are supported by my parents or by weekly lessons with a teacher or tutor. But I have to find a way to use and build on what we’ve done together between my lessons.
An example of how I organize my homeschool is the way in which my writing course is done. My parents assign me essay topics or research projects, and help provide some of the information or books I might need to get started. I am currently researching the English translations of Le Fantome de l’Opera (The Phantom of the Opera) by Gaston Leroux. Over eighty pages were omitted in the Alexander Teixeiros de Mattos translation, and I am trying to find out why. In addition, in the different translations that I have read, each translator seems to have a different style and a different understanding of the French language which colors the way the story is perceived by the reader.
I am also working on translating part of the original text into English. I would like to be able to find the time to translate the entire book and create my own definitive translation of Le Fantome. This is something that I am really looking forward to.
I believe choosing to homeschool has been one of the most positive decisions I have made in my life. It has given me freedom of time and choice, the freedom with which to explore my interests, to follow tangents and delve into a subject. Because of homeschooling I have been able to focus on the theatre and music and language in a way that is denied to most people my age. I have learned early to appreciate the wisdom of Shakespeare, the beauty of opera, and the heart and soul of theatre. I know I would not have been able to do this without the vehicle of homeschool supporting and carrying me along the way.”
Caitlin’s letter should give you some idea of the options and flexibility you have in designing a homeschooling program for your kids, as well as how exiting, rewarding, and effective homeschooling can be for your children. Every child’s interests will be different, but that is the beauty of homeschooling. After learning to read and write, each child can study whatever subjects excite them. Learning by homeschooling can become a joyful and rewarding experience, instead of 12 years of mindless drudgery in public schools.
Also, low-cost Internet private schools can give your kids the same, great homeschooling education, yet do 90 percent of the homeschooling work for you. These quality, accredited, internet private schools are therefore great for working parents who have less free time for homeschooling than a stay-at-home parent. Best of all, many of these internet private schools cost less than $1000 a year tuition (that’s only about $85 a month, or $22 a week!).
Many of the homeschooling, general information, and parent-organization websites listed in the Resource section of my book, “Public Schools, Public Menace,” can also give you an idea of what homeschooling can be like. These websites have many true stories by parents who describe their homeschooling experiences, and offer homeschooling tips. Also, two wonderful books I can recommend will also give you an idea of what homeschooling can be like for you and your children. They are: Homeschooling For Excellence, by David and Micki Colfax (Warner Books), and The Unschooling Handbook, by Mary Griffith (Prima Publishing).
Public School Horror Stories
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Page Under Construction
Parent Talk
This is the first post for parent talk and this area is currently under construction
DO CHILDREN HAVE A “RIGHT” TO AN EDUCATION?
Filed under: Why Kids Can't Read, Why Public Schools Are Bad
“Free education for all children in government schools.”
- Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto
One of the most common arguments that school authorities use to justify public schools is that all children have a “right” to an education. Public-school apologists claim that all children have a right to an education, and that only the existence of a massive, compulsory, government-controlled public-school system can “guarantee” that right.
As I will explain below, the claim that all children have a right to an education ends up hurting the very children it was intended to help. I will therefore ask a seemingly shocking question – do all children have a right to an education? If they do, public-school apologists are correct in assuming that we need government to guarantee that right so no child gets left behind.
What is an economic right such as the alleged right to an education? A right means that a person has a claim on the rest of society (other Americans) to give him some product or service he wants, regardless of whether he can pay for it or not. For example, if we claimed that everyone has a right to a car, that would mean if someone couldn’t afford a car, government would give that person the money to buy it (the payment might be called a car voucher).
Similarly, if we say that all children have a right to an education, regardless of their parent’s ability to pay tuition, then only government can guarantee this alleged right. Government has to guarantee this right because no private, for-profit school will admit a student if the parents don’t pay tuition (unless the student gets a scholarship). If a private school doesn’t get paid for its services, it soon goes out of business.
Local or state governments can guarantee this alleged right in two basic ways. They can own and operate all the public schools and force all children to attend these schools, or they can give subsidies (vouchers) to parents to pay for tuition in the private school of their choice. Since most school authorities strongly oppose vouchers, that means they support only a government-controlled system of compulsory public schools and school taxes to guarantee children this alleged right to an education.
But government produces nothing by itself. Government gets its money by taxing us. To guarantee this alleged right to a product or service, government tax collectors must therefore take money from one person to give it to another. They must take from Peter to pay Paul, as the saying goes. So, in effect, a person who demands food, housing, or medical care as an alleged right, is really demanding that government tax agents steal money from his neighbor to give him an unearned benefit he didn’t work for.
Education, like housing or medical care, does not grow free in nature. Just as someone must pay doctors, nurses, and hospitals for all the services they provide, someone must also pay for teachers’ salaries, textbooks, janitorial services, and school upkeep. Other than air, nothing that we need is free.
The average public school now gets over $7,500 a year per student, paid from compulsory taxes. To guarantee education as a “right,” local, state, and federal governments must tax all Americans to pay for public schools. All of us are taxed, whether or not we have school-age children or think these schools are worth paying for. So when some parents claim that their children have a right to an education, they are really demanding that their local or state government steal money from their neighbors to pay for their children’s education.
Here’s an analogy that might help clarify this issue. Imagine that your unemployed neighbor comes to you and asks you to lend him money to pay for his children’s education. You reply that, though you sympathize with his problem, your answer is no. He responds by saying that he is poor, points out that you have a big house and a job, and insists that his children have a “right” to an education. You say, “Sorry, my answer is still no because I need my money for my own children’s education.” Suppose that your neighbor then gets real mad, pulls out a gun, puts it to your head, and says, “I asked you nicely. I told you my children need an education. You have a job, and I’m unemployed, so you have a moral duty to give me your money.” Then he clicks back the hammer on the gun.
Does your neighbor have the right to put a gun to your head and steal your money because his children “need” an education? He has no such right. Nor does he, or any number of your neighbors, have the right to rob you by getting government to be their enforcer – by pressuring local governments to take your money through school taxes. Any school system that uses compulsory taxes is a system based on the notion that theft is moral if it’s for a good cause. No goal, not even educating children, justifies legalized theft.
It is only natural that all parents want the best education for their children, but do good intentions justify stealing from your neighbor? A mugger on the street who puts a knife to your throat and demands your money also has good intentions – he wants to make his life better with your money. One of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shalt not steal.” It does not say, “Thou shalt not steal, except if you need tuition money to educate your child.” Since no one has a right to steal from his neighbor, no one, including children, has a “right” to an education.
Some might argue that I may be correct on this issue when it comes to adults, but surely we can’t punish innocent children for their parent’s failures? Just because parents are poor or unemployed, why should innocent children suffer and be denied an education? The answer to that question is one that many people find hard to accept, yet it is true – there are no guarantees in life, not for adults or for children. Good intentions to alleviate a problem do not justify hurting other people by stealing from them. Two wrongs do not make a right.
Moreover, if we agree that children have a right to an education because their parents are poor, then shouldn’t they also have a right to food, a bicycle, a nice house in the suburbs, and designer clothes? If poor kids (and all children) have an alleged right to an education, don’t they also have an alleged right to everything else that other kids have whose parents are well-off? Why not then say that anyone, poor, middle-class, or rich who has less money than his neighbor, has the “right” to steal from his neighbor? Where do we stop if some people can legally steal from others because they claim their kids need this or that?
The answer is, we don’t stop, and we haven’t stopped. That is why our country has turned into a devouring welfare state that is drowning in debt. When I use the word “welfare,” I don’t mean only for the poor. Rich, poor, and middle-class alike in America now claim the right to everything from corporate tax breaks and subsidies, to price supports for farmers, to Medicare, to rent subsidies for unwed mothers. When we let government steal money from taxpayers to give unearned benefits or subsidies to special-interest groups, we open up a Pandora’s box. We become a nation of thieves stealing from each other. Is this what we want America to become?
It is true that a free market does not and can not guarantee that all children have enough to eat or live in a comfortable house. Likewise, a free-market education system in which all parents have to pay for their children’s education obviously can’t guarantee a quality education for every child.
However, government-controlled public schools also can’t guarantee that every child gets a quality education. These failed schools can barely teach our children to read. Also, neither system can make guarantees because there are no guarantees in life, and because each child’s abilities, personality, and family background are so different that such guarantees are impossible. The real question, then, is not which system is perfect, but which system is more likely to give the vast majority of children a quality education that most parents could afford?
Public schools fail and betray millions of children, year after year. The only “right” the public-school system gives to school children is the right to suffer through a mind-numbing, third-rate education for twelve years.
In contrast, the free-market, while not perfect, gives us all the wondrous goods and services we buy every day, such as cars, fresh food, computers, refrigerators, and televisions. The superbly efficient and competitive free market gives us all these marvelous products at prices that most people can afford. Even the poorest American families today have a car, refrigerator, and sometimes two televisions in their homes. If we want to discover which system would give the vast majority of children a quality education at reasonable prices, I think we have the answer – the free market, hands down.
We therefore don’t need a failed public-school system to enforce an alleged right to an education, when there is no such right in the first place. Each parent should be responsible for paying for their own children’s education, just as they pay for their children’s food or clothing.
Finally, public-school apologists use this alleged right to an education to justify keeping the public-school dinosaur alive, in spite of these schools’ never-ending failure. Many public-school apologists who claim that children have a right to an education do so out of good intentions. They want to give all children a chance to get a decent education. But good intentions mean worse than nothing if they lead to dismal consequences. This alleged right to an education lets government bureaucrats have tyrannical control over our children’s minds and future.
The “right” to an education requires a massive government-controlled public-school system to enforce that right. But it is this same public-school system that cripples the education and lives of millions of children. So, ironically, the alleged right to an education is the worst thing we can offer our children.
Most low-income families don’t need government education handouts anymore in the form of allegedly “free” public schools. Parents today can buy quality, low-cost food in a competitive, free-market food industry full of grocery stores and supermarkets. In the same way, parents today can give their kids a quality education using low-cost Internet private schools and homeschooling.
Only when we reject the notion that all children have a “right” to an education will we get government out of the education business, permanently. Only a fiercely-competitive free-market education system can give kids the quality, low-cost education they deserve.
Vouchers — Parents, Don’t Depend On Them
Vouchers, which give tax money to parents to pay for tuition in private schools, sound good in theory. The problem is that voucher programs are few and very far between. The Supreme Court declared vouchers constitutional in 2002, but currently only thirteen cities or states have created voucher or education tax credit programs.
Some of these voucher programs are tax credit programs, whether personal or corporate, and cover only a fraction of tuition costs. The voucher programs have various restrictions that limit their benefits to a relatively small number of children (such as the Florida programs that are limited to disabled students or to schools that get an ‘F’ grade). Also, many of these programs pay only part of the tuition costs. In the ‘tuitioning’ programs in Maine and Vermont, most eligible kids simply transfer to public schools in other towns. In effect, these programs barely scratch the surface -they only help a tiny fraction of the approximately 45 million school children who now suffer through public-school education.
Also, the education establishment, teacher unions, and most state and federal legislators in the Democratic party are against vouchers. Teacher unions fight voucher initiatives tooth and nail with lawsuits. When the unions take state voucher plans to court, these lawsuits can drag on for years. The voucher fight is going to be a long, bitter, ongoing legal battle between parents, states, and the teacher unions. For example, on Jan. 5th, 2006, the Florida Supreme Court struck down a state-wide voucher system in Florida. About 700 Florida children now attending private or parochial schools under this voucher program will now have to go back to public-school “education prisons.”
Also, most states today are running huge budget deficits. As a result, states are cutting back on programs already on their books, so they can hardly afford expensive new voucher programs. California had close to a $13 billion budget deficit (which they “closed” by the typical near-sighted trick of borrowing the money with new state bonds), Texas a $10 billion deficit, and New York about an $8 billion deficit.15 (these deficit numbers keep fluctuating, depending on which politician is citing which new study, but the deficits are huge).
With state governments burdened by multi-billion-dollar deficits, what is the chance that you will see a voucher program in your neighbor-hood any time soon? It might not be wise for you to wait around for such a voucher miracle.
Another problem is that even if vouchers were more widespread, private religious and secular schools simply do not have the room for all the students who would like to transfer out of public schools, either with state vouchers or private scholarships. According to Nora Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of New York, private Catholic schools in New York could accommodate only 3000 new students. Yet, in September, 2002, 240,000 New York students in failing public schools qualified to transfer to a “better” public school under the “No Child Left Behind Act.” If all these students’ parents instead wanted vouchers for private schools (if such a voucher program existed), you see the problem.
For all the above reasons, parents who want to give their children a decent education now, cannot and should not depend on vouchers coming to their local neighborhood anytime soon. Parents, don’t wait around for another fifty years while voucher advocates fight drawn-out lawsuits and fierce opposition by teacher unions, public-school bureaucrats, and the entrenched education establishment.
Don’t pin your hopes on state governments with huge budget deficits to create vouchers for every child in your state. Don’t risk your children’s future on state and local politicians who get campaign contributions from teacher unions and consistently vote against voucher programs. Depending on government authorities to come to your rescue is an exercise in futility.
Teacher Licensing Benefits Teachers, Not Our Children
If teacher licensing produced competent teachers, why would public-school authorities fight so hard against merit pay? The answer seems obvious-is it possible that the public-school system produces teachers, principals, or administrators who might not “merit” their pay, and might lose their jobs under merit-pay rules?
If licensing doesn’t work, what is the alternative? The answer is, no licensing. If anyone could teach without a license, like home-schooling parents or private-school teachers, then millions of new, competent, creative teachers would flood the market. These new, unlicensed teachers would compete with one another and drive the price of education down, much as competition drives down the price of computers. They would, thankfully, also put public schools out of business, since millions of parents and free-market schools would now hire these new competent, low-cost teachers.
Without licensing laws, anyone with a special skill or knowledge could simply put an ad in the Yellow Pages or their local newspaper and advertise themselves as a tutor in English, math, biology, history, or computer skills. Retired cooks, engineers, authors, plumbers, musicians, biologists, or businessmen who love teaching could easily open a small school in their homes. If there were no license laws, these talented new teachers would not have to worry about school authorities stopping them from teaching because they didn’t have a license.
How would parents be sure they were not hiring a charlatan if there were no licensing laws? The same way they judge their doctor, accountant, or car-mechanic-by results, reputation, and by being careful consumers. Naturally, parents would make occasional mistakes in judgment because they are human. However, they would quickly become careful consumers because they would now be spending their hard-earned money for teachers. It is amazing how fast we learn to judge the work of others when we have to pay for their services. Also, if a parent does make mistakes in judging an unlicensed teacher, by watching her child’s progress she will soon catch her error. At that point, she can quickly fire the teacher or school and find a better one. Can a parent do that with her children’s public-school teacher or school?
The worst nightmare for public-school authorities is a true free market of teachers with no licensing requirements. Fierce competition by millions of new, unlicensed, competent, highly-skilled people, might put public schools out of business and threaten teachers’ tenured jobs. That is one unspoken reason why school authorities fiercely defend licensing laws — real competition terrifies them. That is also one of the best reasons to eliminate teacher licensing.
The only way to insure good teachers is to let parents decide who will teach their children, not bureaucrats. Millions of parents making individual decisions about who should teach their children, will bring forth the best teachers. Fierce competition and an education free market would raise all boats in the teaching profession. Teachers who want to succeed in their profession would have to prove to parent-customers or private-school owners that they have what it takes. They would have to prove by results that they know how to teach and motivate children to read, write, and learn.
Parents — Your Children’s Report Card May Be Rigged
Under the “No Child Left Behind Act,” public schools whose students consistently fail standardized tests can be shut down. To protect their jobs, teachers and principals are now under intense pressure to cheat – to fudge test scores and report cards to fool parents and school administrators.
Myron Lieberman, former high-school teacher, listed some of the ways teachers can “cheat” in his book “Public Education: an Autopsy“:
1 –Poor students were excluded or discouraged from taking the tests
2 – Teachers assigned tests as homework or taught test items in class
3 – Test security was minimal or even nonexistent
5 – Unrealistic, highly improbable improvements from test to test were not audited or investigated
6 – Teachers and administrators were not punished for flagrant violations of test procedures
7 – Test results were reported in ways that exaggerated achievement levels (1)
In December 1999, a special investigation of New York City schools revealed that two principals and dozens of teachers and assistant teachers were helping students cheat on standardized math and reading tests.
Andrew J. Coulson, in his brilliant book, “Market Education: The Unknown History,” sites an example of how public schools deliberately lie to parents about their children’s academic abilities:
“Consistently greeted by A’s and B’s on their children’s report cards, the parents of Zavala Elementary School had been lulled into complacency, believing that both the school and its students were performing well. In fact, Zavala was one of the worst schools in the district, and its students ranked near the bottom on statewide standardized tests. When a new principal took over the helm and requested that the statewide scores be read out at a PTA meeting, parents were dismayed by their children’s abysmal showing, and furious with teachers and school officials for misleading them with inflated grades.” (2)
In 1990, three academics, Harold Stevenson, Chuansheng Chen, and David Uttal did a study of the attitudes and academic achievement of black, white, and hispanic children in Chicago. They found a disturbing gap between what parents thought their children were learning and the children’s actual performance. Teachers in high-poverty schools had given A’s to students for work that would have earned them C’s or D’s in affluent suburban schools. In the study, black mothers of Chicago elementary school students rated their child’s skills and abilities quite high and thought their kids were doing well in reading and math. The children thought the same thing.
Unfortunately, the researchers found that the parents’ and children’s self-evaluations of their math and reading skills were way above their actual achievement levels. There was a big gap between their optimistic self-evaluations and their dismal academic performance on independent tests. Public schools were giving these children a false idea of their academic skill levels. In other words, these children were heading towards failure and no one bothered to tell them.
Parents, it would not be wise to trust any claims by teachers or school authorities about your children’s alleged academic abilities, even in so-called “good” schools in suburban neighborhoods. To find out how your child is really doing, have an outside independent company test your child’s reading and math skills. If you find that your child’s academic skills are far below what your local public-school led you to believe, you might want to take your child out of public school and look for better education alternatives. There is a complete Resource section in “Public Schools, Public Menace” that explores many of these quality, low-cost education alternatives.
by Joel Turtel
Read more information about “Public Schools, Public Menace.”
(1) Myron Lieberman, Public Education: An Autopsy (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993), pp. 8283.
(2) Andrew J. Coulson, , Market Education: The Unknown History, (New Brunswick, (USA): Transaction Publishers), 1999, p. 22.
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