This is pretty scary

According to the San Francisco Chronicle:

A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution.
[...]
"California courts have held that ... parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children," Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28. "Parents have a legal duty to see to their children's schooling under the provisions of these laws."

Unbelievable.

Hat tip to the Market Power Blog. I heard it there first.

Inequality: Does it matter?

There were a couple of thoughtful comments to my last post.

The term inequality was brought up. So my question is this: does inequality matter?

The term "equality" gives me a new way to frame the topic of my last post. Conservatives typically look at equality of opportunity, whereas liberals tend to look at equality of resources. But doesn't resources equal opportunity? To some extent, yes.

But conservatives goal with government programs are typically different than that of liberals. Conservatives look at government as mostly a protector, even if their view is not limited to that of a military. Conservatives see welfare as being available for those who truly need it; and like the military, they may see it in terms of protecting people from bad things, such as hunger, living in the streets, etc... This is opposed to the more providing role of welfare as envisioned by liberals.

Conservatives typically view the role of welfare and other government programs as providing food and resources for those who need food and resources. It appears that liberals want government programs to "level the playing field" and provide equality.

Should equality be a goal? This is where I disagree with liberals. I think what a person has should be viewed in terms relative to their needs.

Look at it this way. If I have a 2-bedroom house over my head and I have enough groceries for 3 meals a day, does it really matter that my neighbor lives in a mansion and eats at the finest restaurants? No, I'm not saying gov't should provide homes and groceries, but my point is this: when we look at the poor, we should see if their needs are being met, not what they have relative to the rich.

When taxes are used to provide help for those who need it, I'm okay with that. When taxes are used to make sure people have the same amount of stuff, that breaks the Tenth Commandment.

Now, I'm not saying inequality never matters, because life is a competition, whether it is in school trying to get the best grades, or competing for scholarships, or competing for jobs based on the schools you attended. The schooling system is where inequality can shine through the most. But this is precisely where resources outside of government can provide the most help. The status quo with our school system is that the quality of school you get is proportional to how much house your parents can afford. School choice programs do equal the playing field.

When it comes to basic needs, comparisons between groups should not matter. However, inequality does play a role to what resources we have, and I believe school choice can greatly help with that.

Another advantage of school choice

The Cato Blog makes a good point. There are other ways to achieve racial integration rather than the direct methods struck down by the Supreme Court yesterday. One way is school choice. Imagine a system where poor minority children wouldn't be stuck with their inner-city schools. Such a system would require less government involvement, something many aren't ready for.

Understanding the scientific origins of the universe is way overrated. Or is it? Let the parents decide.

There is an interesting discussion over at Glen Dean's blog about school choice. One of his money quotes is

Christians who believe that God created the heavens and the earth, and want their children to be taught that, are not necessarily the enemies of science. All they really ask is that they have a little say in what their children are taught. After all, the children do belong to them, not the state.

. Another commenter made a reasonable point in the second paragraph

I disagree that the topic is freedom. I really am frightened by the prospect of millions of ignorant kids growing into adulthood completely lacking some basic knowledge about how the world works. Furthermore, the South and pockets of the midwest, seem to be havens for this sort of thinking. Left unchecked, the day will come when we'll have pockets of ignorance--sorta like how things were in the last century.

Parents can teach their kids whatever they want, but there should still be certain standards of education. Kids need to at least be exposed to real science. What they choose to do with that knowledge is their own business.

I wanted to raise a couple of points.

I agree with Glen in that parents should have the primary role in what their children are taught. If a central federal office or court has the power to enforce teaching with which we agree, it has the same power to do so when we don't disagree. Liberals may think they have more to gain with a centralized school system, but there could still be governors or courts that think creationism is the way to go.

Additionally, let's say evolution does provide a sufficient framework for explaining the universe. Okay, fine, but is someone really going to miss out and not be able to function in society if they don't learn about it? From a scientific perspective, people give the origins of the universe too much credit. I went through a whole set of college coursework without touching a biology class, as it was not necessary or related to my major. But even in high school, when I did take a biology class, we didn't really touch on evolution too much, but that doesn't mean I didn't learn (and quickly forgot) the processes of mitosis, meiosis, photosynthesis, and all that other stuff. Not only is an understanding of evolution unnecessary to basic functioning in society, but someone can still have a good grasp of the sciences without going into the subject. In the case that someone wanted to go into academia in the life sciences,the desired college program can determine if evolutionary understanding is necessary. Already, college programs decide on entry requirements typically beyond high school graduation requirements anyway.

But I'm only looking at it from a purely utilitarian point of view. After all, reading classic works or learning the finer details of our American government are not things I apply everyday in my particular line of work, but I am still glad I learned those things, and I hope my children do as well.

The point is, I, as a parent, should determine if learning the scientific origins of the universe is even that important in the first place. The same should go for other areas of education as well.

Same-sex schools, classes okay

The Bush administration gave the okay for school districts to have more freedom in same-sex schools and classes.

I haven't had time to review all the details concerning the decision, but from my understanding, enrollment is voluntary. That is, students in a district will have the choice between a co-ed school or a same-sex school.

So, is going to a school with all the same gender a good thing? Or is going to a coed school better? Well, since enrollment is voluntary, it does not matter as much. It is up to the parents to decide. I can see possible complaints because it would supposedly open the door to segregated schools. Overall, I agree with the decision, simply because I believe in maximum flexibility when it comes to parents deciding what kind of school their child should go to.

This decision does have ramifications for school choice. If there does appear to be advantages of same-sex schools, even for some, but not all, I think it may show the advantage of having school choice in other areas as well. In fact, if school choice was more widely available, we would have probably more same-sex schools in the past.

Now, I am not advocating same-sex schools in any way. I don't know if that is something I would want for my child. I am just advocating parents having the choice of same-sex or coed schools.

Even if same-sex schools turn out to be a failure, that is something parents, and society, on a larger level, will learn somewhat quickly. Test scores will be compared between counterparts, and we may find that some students do better or worse. And that is really how school should work in general. Schools compete to get better.

Now, how school choice should be implemented is another topic entirely. Should families get vouchers; should their be charter schools; should parents simply have the choice of schools in their city the same way one has the choice of public colleges? One thing I do believe, is that school choice must be implemented somehow.

This is something I will have to think more about. These are just my immediate thoughts on the subject. The point is, parents should have more choice in their children's schooling than simply if they go to a coed school or not. If advantages are seen in having choice in this aspect, this may lead to choice in other areas as well.

ID vs. Evolution, and the Real Issue

Should schools teach Intelligent Design or Evolution?

First some remarks on ID. Is ID science? I can see why some critics would say it is "religion disguised as science" or "creationism lite". However, I believe one should consider the claims that it makes without automatically dismissing it. ID does seem different from other sciences in that it makes extrapolations based on patterns in nature. If ID lacks the solid science, fine. I don't see issues with considering the ideas of what has not been proven. Who says God has to be the intelligent designer? Maybe some guy created a society in his test tube, which is us? The idea may seem a little ridiculous, but who is to say that some advanced society beyond our comprehension did not cook us up? I believe God created us, I am just demonstrating that "ID" does not equal "God did it."

As far as evolution, from a science perspective, if the science and data are there to support the idea, great. I'm not a biologist, I'm more of a physical science type. But science should not become dogma. If there are holes in evolutionary theory, present them. If there are questions to be asked, ask them. The reason I say this is because even criticizing aspects of the theory of evolution must go through a legislature in many states. This should not be. Science should be about asking questions. For the Law of the Conservation of Energy and The Second Law of Thermodynamics, the textbook will say quite plainly, "this has never been proven. It is based on empirical data."

But really, when it comes to schools, these issues are of secondary importance. The issues of primary importance are, "how do we decide what is taught to our children." Who says that a state or district court has to decide for everyone? In my view, parents should be able to choose if they want to send their children to a school that teaches evolution, or ID. We would not be fighting endless cultural wars over how to educate our kids. Parents would be able to decide for themselves.

Such a claim brings criticisms. First of all, for those who believe ID is not science, they would criticize the notion that parents would prevent their children from learning "real science." But to those I would say, how do you know that the government knows what real science is? The government may be viewed by some as an objective force that upholds reason that would not be influenced by religious matters, but I would disagree. Even if this was the case, what do your own children have to lose? Worry about raising your own kids, not others.

Perhaps the issue is trust for the parents vs. trust for the government. In some cases, I would put my trust in the government. For example, we allow parents some autonomy in raising their own children and choosing how to discipline them, but we don't allow abuse. I support seat belt laws and car safety laws for children.. But I believe the parents should have authority on how their children are educated.

How do we know they would make the right choice? We don't. But how do we know the government will make the right choice? I prefer decentralizing such decisions. Also, parents can learn from each other. Which method of teaching math is best? Does abstinence-only education work, or safe-sex education? Studies will be done, and parents can do what is shown to work best. Parents can send their children to a school that is an extension of their own values, rather than parents' values battling it out in a one-size-fits-all school system.


On a totally unrelated note, does anyone besides me find it amusing that the word "blog" fails on the spell-check.

How should be go about school choice?

There are basically three ways that people discuss concerning the reform of our public school system. One way is to keep the existing public school system, but work on reform, either through increased funding, or other ideas. There are two more radical ways that involve school choice. One school choice method is to continue public funding of education, but allow school choice through vouchers or charter schools. The much more radical one involves the complete privatization of schools.

I like the idea of complete privatization, but I think it is a little radical for right now, and I don't think it has much support, primarily because it would cut off universal guaranteed funding. So, the school voucher/charter school method seems like a reasonable compromise, or a major first step. But the question is, would this, in fact, be an improvement, or could it potentially make things worse. Andrew Coulson deals with this question:

Will charter schools enlarge the existing government monopoly in the long run?

We know this is a delicate question, but our own history demands that it be asked. A close historical analogue to a modern charter school is a conventional U.S. public school of the mid-to-late 1800s. In fact, early public schools had greater local control and autonomy than most charters do today.

Look what has become of them.

The natural pattern for public schools has been relentlessly increasing centralization and regulation. Is there any reason to think that charter schools, or any public school choice variation, will escape that fate?

Many private schools are opting to convert to charter schools as a way of alleviating financial pressures, so the eventual result could be a nearly universal government monopoly that is as heavily regulated as are public schools today. Is that a tolerable risk?

The late Harry Browne echoed a similar concern, stating that school vouchers are not really "school choice" and would actually make things worse. Private schools would begin to accept public funds, through the form of vouchers, but with this money, strings would probably be attached. As a consequence, private schools would be molded to fit the public school model, and then private schools would have the same flaws as the public school system of today.

So, the middle road of school choice raises concerns about the fate of private schools. From a religious establishment issue, I still have no problems with private schools receiving money that follows the student, because it is done so by the student's choice, not through any coercion. However, I have to consider the concerns raised by Browne and Coulson. In an earlier post I stated by opposition to government funding of faith based initiatives, because it would change the nature of the initiative, and I wonder if the same would happen to private schools. At the same time, I like the idea of the money following the student; we are funding the student anyway, why not let him choose where to go? If we could get the funding without the regulation, that would be great, but that is unlikely to happen.

Perhaps a good solution would be to allow school choice, but only in the public arena. This would mimic the situation in higher education. The student would still be stuck in a public school system, but they would have their choice of schools. This seems to work well in the college arena. Where a child lives would not determine what school they had to attend, it would basically be an issue of how the parents are willing to drive. I am not sure how this would work exactly, because it would not be a free market, so I would have to spend time thinking about the ramifications of such a system. The good schools would attract all the students, but what motivation would the school have to grow? Maybe increased funding that eventually means higher teacher and administrator pay. That would provide motivation for schools to do better jobs. But, even then, the school system is still somewhat closed, so I am not sure how good it would do. Just some things to think about.