No, we do have the freedom, but if you don’t want to make the sacrifices to make it happen, don’t blame anyone else.
Regarding that “second income,” all too often, the second income earner is working at a loss, especially if they are working for low wages. After taxes, clothing expenses, higher food expenses (like it or not, when both people work, they’re more likely to eat out), higher transportation costs (gas, insurance, accelerated maintenance, accelerated car purchases, etc.), childcare expenses, etc…so many people are actually working for negative earnings, especially among those who are working for low wages to begin with.
And you need to re-check those numbers on private vs public schools. Most private schools that are equal to or better than comparable public schools cost more, not less. The reason public schools appear to cost more per capita is because they educate, feed, and care for the most expensive students (special education/learning disabled, socially/economically disadvantaged, ESL, etc.) and have far more resources than private schools do, especially for these students. Public schools also have more qualified teachers, on average, than private schools.
Good schools are good because of the parents whose children attend those schools. The parents have the greatest impact on how students (and schools) perform. If you want your kids to do well, nurture their curiosity and interests, read to them, take them to museums, talk to them about a variety of topics, etc. That is the #1 way to make a difference in your child’s life…and it’s all free, or nearly so.
Oh, and get them the hell away from those electronic babysitters![/quote]Who said I’m not making sacrifices? However, that’s besides the point. It doesn’t matter what I do/sacrifice, I say it like it is. I don’t see our system as having very many choices. I’m fully aware of your persuasion with the teachers union, so, I’m certain this conversation will go no where. Just stating it like how I see it, as a parent.
I would say the feminist movement will disagree with your assessment of second earner greatly. I’ll leave that at that.
I’ve rechecked my numbers many times. Public schools in SDUSD are spending about $12-13k/student. There are a lot of private schools that are charging <$10k. Good Montessori schools that feed into LJCD/Bishops/etc. are charging $10k/student. So, yes it's much cheaper. Here's a kicker, even with less $ per student, the Montessori I'm referring to have a class size of 12 to 1 for 1-3rd grade and 20 to 1 there after. That's well bellow the class size of SDUSD schools. I'm hearing class sizes of 30-35 to 1 student to teacher ratio. It doesn't matter how good you are, if you have to deal w/ 2x as many students, you'll get much lower quality. I haven't even touched on the quality of the education. The kids in the montessori are taught Mandarin and Spanish from the Preschool level and continue through 6th grade. Then there are art/band/science/etc. So yeah, looking at the quality of the schools in SDUSD and then look at the many private schools out there, I don't buy that public schools are cheaper and better. If you truly believe that's the case, why not open up the voucher system and lets see what the parents/students will do. There's nothing to be afraid of if the public schools are really as good as you say it is.[/quote]
Your research is bad. You can find the costs here:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/fd/ec/
On that last link, go down to line 564 for San Diego County's numbers. You'll see that they cost of public education runs between $8,000 and $10,000, on average.
Here's another link for per-pupil/ADA funding for public schools in California. San Diego County starts at the bottom of page 48.
Not only can you see that your numbers are off, but you'll also notice the incredible number of choices ranging from regular public schools, to public charters, to publicly-funded charters. Everything from the Leonardo da Vinci Health
Sciences Charter to Dehesa Charter to Nestor Language Academy Charter to the California Virtual Academy to various High Tech Highs to College Preparatory Middle School to the Learning Choice Academy to The Museum School to All Tribes Charter to Innovations Academy to Health Sciences High to the Mandarin Language Academy...and everything in between.
Just FYI, a number of the homeschool charter options allow you to homeschool from 0-5 days/week (don't ask me how they've managed to convince themselves and others that 5 days/week in school is homeschooling). During attendance days at these schools, kids can participate in various language, drama, art, science, math, literature, social studies classes, etc. They often participate in (and often win!) science, math, and other academic and fine arts/performance competitions. Some even offer junior law classes where they participate in mock trial competitions. And if that's not enough for you, some publicly-funded private charters give you money that you can use to pay for classes, extracurricular activities, and curriculum tools of your choice.
AN, don't complain about a lack of choice or freedom. You're just not willing to put in the time and energy to research these things for yourself.
One more thing...you're conflating educational freedom and choice with the public funding of anything and everything you want. In California, you have some of the greatest possible freedoms where your child's education is concerned. Legally, we're one of the most liberal states in one of the most liberal countries where educational choices are concerned. That is a fact. That you have so many publicly-funded options is just icing on the cake.
