Ross Ramsey of the Texas Tribune reviews the upcoming voucher battle in Texas.
The voucher fight is not about kids. It is not about education. It is about who gets the public money. “While it seems to be a fight about education, it’s really a fight about money — about whether taxpayers should foot some or all of the tuition bill for private elementary and secondary education.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants vouchers. Governor Gregg Abbott wants vouchers.
Their big battle will take place in the House, where every year a coalition of urban Democrats and rural Republicans defend their public schools and oppose funding private and religious schools.
Will the coalition stand strong again this year?
Is there any evidence that vouchers will help the children of Texas? No.
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:
yes…it is all about money. Even if they happened to get a bill passed. I predict it will take 2-3 years before becoming law. It will be challenged all the way to the US Supreme Court.
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If Trump gets another Supreme Court pick, say hello to vouchers for religious schools. With no restrictions on teaching creationism and no need to hire certified teachers.
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You are correct.
As a science teacher and a Christian, this has always been a struggle on how to teach it. I have to be careful not to include my personal views and opinions in the instruction.
In order to present both (Creationism and Evolution) as theories. It up to the parent and student’s value system to determine which they believe. I believe they need to be informed about both, as long as I don’t tell them which to believe.
Theory: a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena
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Your second paragraph is one of the more disturbing things I’ve read on this blog, especially because I thought past comments I’ve seen seem to be objective. What is your opinion about the validity of the scientific method, how it should be taught, and how students should draw conclusions from it?
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Greg,
Why is it so disturbing?
Students deserve to know all the information, not just that selected by a few. Nobody is telling to believe one or the other.
I do believe the scientific method is valid, unfortunately, with the focus on testing, it is not emphasized as much as it used to be.
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Actually it was the third paragraph. If you accept the scientific method as valid, then the only way to teach creationism is use geology, biology, botany, and other scientific disciplines as examples of how this “theory” (I’ll be charitable) has no scientific basis in fact. Or does one use episodes of The Flintstones to demonstrate a possible theory?
As for “It is up to the parent and student’s value system to determine which they believe”, does that mean if the value systems determine that climate is the same thing as the weather, that homosexuality (or heterosexuality, for that matter) is a personal choice, that some races are superior to others, or that history proves that men are superior to women are off-limits? If a history teacher is told that a family’s value systems inform them that slavery was a benevolent relationship between master and slave, how then should he or she teach about the reality of slavery?
None of these examples require a teacher to “tell them what to believe.” Students who are presented with a broad, objective curriculum will learn how do differentiate between facts, reasoned opinions, and potentially false value systems.
I believe your reasoning opens the intellectual door for students to accept “alternative facts” and superstition to perpetuate and create new falsehoods. Should you be interested, I suggest you read Carl Sagan’s “The Demon Haunted World.” I would be happy to consider reading anything you suggest about how to balance creationism with a broad curriculum based on the scientific method.
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Theory: a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena”
In what world is creationism a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principal? Creationism is a question driven by faith not the scientific method. It’s place is in the religious institutions of whatever faith group wishes to believe it. A public school science classroom is no place for teaching a religious faith.
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Since the people of Texas elected a governor and a lieutenant governor who are in favor of vouchers/choice, isn’t it reasonable to conclude, that the people (or at least a majority) of the people of Texas, also want vouchers/choice?
And since the Supreme Court already settled the constitutionality of vouchers/choice in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), is there any reason that the court would wish to re-visit the issue?
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No, it’s not reasonable to conclude that a majority of Texans want vouchers. I believe Diane has reported that no state in which the voters have voted on the issue were vouchers approved.
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Vouchers have been put to a vote many times in many states. They have never been passed by voters.
Charles is making the leap of logic that voters must want vouchers if they vote for politicians who wat vouchers. But voters have many issues they care about. When asked about vouchers, public money for religious schools, they have always voted NO by large margins.
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Creationism is bunkum, baloney, it has no place in a science class, it’s not science. What’s next? Teaching astrology alongside astronomy, alchemy and chemistry?
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You got that right, Joe.
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We’ll have to be careful what we wish for… 🙂 We may soon find that Trump follows the stars — he doesn’t seem to have much other logic behind his decisions.
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Hey, it worked for Nancy Reagan! 🙂
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🙂 🙂
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Vouchers make the least educational sense, and have the potential to do the most harm. Most vouchers will not provide students with an excellent education. Students in religious schools may turn out like DeVos, a brainwashed parrot that repeats prompts and homilies. Vouchers basically turn public school budgets into ATMs for private schools. With funds dispersed in so many ways, there is no chance for any level of accountability. It is like throwing public money into an abyss and hoping for the best. It makes no logical sense. There is zero evidence that the money spent in such a manner improves educational outcomes. In fact, there is evidence that shows that voucher students are worse off than those in public schools. The public money in question is supposed to enhance students’ education, not diminish it. Parents that want religious education for children should pay for it themselves or send their children for religious training after school or the weekend.
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Reblogged this on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé.
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A voucher bill will not pass the Texas Legislature this session. The pastors and people of Texas will not allow it.
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