Public Versus Private, the Great Debate
Advanced Composition 1 14 November 2012
Public vs. Private: The Great School Debate To privatize or not to privatize… that is the question. Should the nation keep our schools run by the government or should the governments let companies take over education? That is a very important question in our education system today. The answer to our problems today lies in a very simple answer. State governments should privatize the public school system. Many people may think that privatizing all of the schools in the nation is an absurd and outlandish claim, but if one were to look at the facts, it suddenly becomes reasonable. In Florida, over 30% of students in one district could not meet the most basic requisites in mathematics, reading, and science in order to move on to higher education. (Dunn 9) Also, on top of that, in many schools across the nation, teachers’ pay is directly linked to how their students perform in basic standardized testing. Imagine how low the pay is in the school district in Florida. State governments need to privatize our schools to save our education system. Although, public schools are a truly delicate balance. If public schools were privatized, there is a risk that everything may fall apart at the seams and the nation’s education system would be destroyed beyond ruins. It would be a huge leap to privatize the school system. Public schools right now maintain a delicate balance that is keeping our nation running. Would the people of America really want to jeopardize a functioning system right now? John Cloud writes, “Contrary to popular belief, we can find no evidence that private schools actually increase student performance.” (17) As well, some teachers fear that they may lose control of what happens in their classroom if private companies were to take over the school system (Simon 1). Back to the burning question and more facts about it, Sierra Stoneman-Bell writes “Pursuing alternative pathways are important, but we are
Public vs. Private: The Great School Debate To privatize or not to privatize… that is the question. Should the nation keep our schools run by the government or should the governments let companies take over education? That is a very important question in our education system today. The answer to our problems today lies in a very simple answer. State governments should privatize the public school system. Many people may think that privatizing all of the schools in the nation is an absurd and outlandish claim, but if one were to look at the facts, it suddenly becomes reasonable. In Florida, over 30% of students in one district could not meet the most basic requisites in mathematics, reading, and science in order to move on to higher education. (Dunn 9) Also, on top of that, in many schools across the nation, teachers’ pay is directly linked to how their students perform in basic standardized testing. Imagine how low the pay is in the school district in Florida. State governments need to privatize our schools to save our education system. Although, public schools are a truly delicate balance. If public schools were privatized, there is a risk that everything may fall apart at the seams and the nation’s education system would be destroyed beyond ruins. It would be a huge leap to privatize the school system. Public schools right now maintain a delicate balance that is keeping our nation running. Would the people of America really want to jeopardize a functioning system right now? John Cloud writes, “Contrary to popular belief, we can find no evidence that private schools actually increase student performance.” (17) As well, some teachers fear that they may lose control of what happens in their classroom if private companies were to take over the school system (Simon 1). Back to the burning question and more facts about it, Sierra Stoneman-Bell writes “Pursuing alternative pathways are important, but we are
Cited: Cloud, John. “Are Private Schools Really Better?”. TIME Magazine. 10 Oct. 2007. General Onefile. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. Conlin, Elizabeth. “School of the Future.” Inc. October 1990: 25. Web. GALE General Onefile. 25 Oct. 2012. Department of Education. National Center of Education Statistics. NCES 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2012. Dunn, Eugene. “Cost versus Quality-Public Schools Receive a Failing Grade.” Island Business News. 30 Oct. 1995: 27. General Onefile. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. Ford, Andy. “It’s midnight in Florida: Do you know where your public education dollars are going?” Florida Trend. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. “GED Revamp Sparks Anxiety; Newly Privatized HS Equivalency Test has Education Officials Seeking Alternatives”. Crain’s New York Business. 13 Aug. 2012. 0003-0005. General Onefile. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. Hasan, Medhi. “Gov.’s Stealthy School Reforms Could Be as Toxic as the NHS Bill”. New Statesman. ………….(1996) 20 February 2012. General Onefile. Web. 23 October 2012. Simon, Stephanie. “Privatizing Public Schools: Big Firms Eyeing Profits from U.S. K-12 Market”. Huffington Post. Web. 2 Sept. 2012. 13 November 2012. Walker, Bruce. “An Argument for Privatizing Public Schools”. The New American. Web. 27 July 2012. 15 Nov. 2012.