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Public education

Tuesday, May 22 at 10:52 AM

Ed Augden of Denver writes:

Jim Schwartz, writing on May 14, makes the claim that many voucher and charter school proponents do: It is the schools that are failing so much so that parents and their children should simply be given vouchers and choose their own school. Mr. Schwartz knowledge of recent and past history of public education appears to be limited. Since the 1970s public schools have been increasingly under funded by national standards. Citizens of this state have allowed the schools’ infrastructure (buildings, teaching materials, well paid teachers, etc.) to deteriorate to the extent that many parents are fearful of enrolling their children in public schools.
Mr. Schwartz knowledge of public schools in general also seems to be lacking. Prior to circa 1850, most schools in this country were private and accessible primarily to the wealthy. The Industrial Revolution required a more educated populace.
Horace Mann and other educators advocated for the establishment of public schools. As public schools became widespread, literacy increased and society benefited as a result.
To be sure, society’s maladies are evident in our nation’s public schools. While they may be prevalent there, they did not originate there. Yet, educators are blamed for not solving them. With adequate funding and innovative programming, certainly education can provide some solutions.
To be sure public education is desperate need of reform. That might happen when we recognize that we’ve been under funding education in this state for over 30 years and then move to correct it instead of bashing public education as does Jim Schwartz.

This letter has not been edited.

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