Going Public:Lit&Hist Amer Edu: Module Four Part IV

 I think school choice has its pros and cons in regards to improving public education. Obviously the main pro is competition. The competition of school choice, along with vouchers (scholarships), incentivizes public education to vastly improve its system. If they want to attract students and keep them from using the school choice option, they must improve the quality of their schools and education programs. Some options public education has to offer upgrades is, innovate their buildings, offer unique programs, or just utilize the current, best practices used in today's day in age to stand out amongst your peers. Another pro is that it holds school board members accountable. Accountability is something people lack these days. But when kids are dropping like flies out of schools, members will surely take accountability for it and step up their game. Prime example, my little sister is actually transferring from the high school that both my mother and I graduated from. It is an upsetting situation, as this high school runs deep in our family roots, but the school is doing nothing to help its own case. One of the reasons my sister left is due to sports, she plays softball, she is a pitcher. The team had no catcher for this season and did nothing to try to get a catcher in the building. My sister left to make a statement to the school, that others will follow her if they do not up their game. 

With pros, come cons. There are a few that raise eyebrows when it comes to the downside of implementing school choice. One con could be the idea that the “rich get richer.” No, not literally as in making money, but it means the families with money get the privilege to be able to afford to use this school choice option and send their kids to a much better school system. Segregation is a huge con as well. Like the book said, schools will look around for the best possible kids they can get. They will not offer their vouchers to kids who will struggle or are disadvantaged. For example, students with learning disabilities will not get the chance to experience the school choice option because they are just going to get left behind. Evident;y, this could lead to supply going down for the public education system. What this means is, the supply of good, quality teachers will diminish in the public school education system. Why will good teachers stay and teach a limited number of kids, especially the “leftover” kids? These teachers may get offered jobs at the higher up schools and follow the kids to the schools that offer vouchers and other perks. 

Overall, school choice has both positive and negative impacts on public education. How effective school choice actually is depends on a lot of variables. Needs tending to the students/teachers as well as the community in whole are variables that factor into the school choice idea. But at the end of the day, as long as all kids are in school we are continuing to step in the right direction. 

All in all, I myself am a fan of the school choice system. I was lucky enough to graduate from a catholic school. I have never attended a public school in my life. I have been  through catholic school from pre-k through high school. So while I have never been on the other side of the fence and got to experience public school, I truly think the school choice system works and is good for the education system as a whole.