From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Jul 23 2005 - 14:42:39 BST
Hi Arlo,
Your knowledge of the educational field is ten times mine, so I doubt if I
can contribute much to a discussion of it's proper role in a moral
society. I read your historical material on the subject with interest and
thank you for it.
Some points I could debate, but doubt it would be fruitful. For example:
> However, it is becoming increasing the case that all students must take
> some form of post-secondary education in order to have any type of
> meaningful career. Whether in the form of college or trade schools,
> business schools or advanced training, a "high school diploma" alone means
> practically nothing.
1) A high school diploma means a lot compared to dropping out which today
too many kids do for any number of reasons. 2) If high schools educated to
higher standards than is now deemed acceptable, the diploma could be much
more meaningful. (If pigs could fly . ..:-)
> And, I think, it is important to ask why we are now drawing the line at
> (what has become a completely arbitrary, historical legacy) "high school"?
I would ask why draw the line at college?. Why not fund postgraduate work
and life long education? So I guess my answer is the line has to be drawn
somewhere. Not a very good answer perhaps, but there it is.
> So I am in favor of reform, don't get me wrong on that front. Vouchers,
> though, make me nervous, and would require a lot of clarification before
> I'd sign off on the concept.
I appreciate your position. I feel the same about discussing education in
general. I need a lot of clarification, perhaps beginning with the role of
teacher unions which seem to be beholding to one political ideology. But
that's a can of worms I assume neither of us want to open.
Perhaps we can settle for agreeing that education in an MOQ moral society,
being supportive of the intellectual level, should be subject to coercive
taxes on citizens. The extent of such taxation will always be open to
question, but for practical purposes decided periodically by democratic
means.
Platt
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