Holy cow! Do you mean despite Brown vs Board of Education we still have segregation? Only now even more nuanced? I do think things are better now, but yes: people.
I hesitate to call it segregation because of the inherited meaning of that term, and I want to be more precise. However, the adult-perpetuated class warfare between school districts, which places children as the beneficiaries or victims of good and bad policy without regard for the overall good of education, is plainly apparent.
Hey, David, I am not completely writing it off. I just feel that we have jumped two steps ahead for a number of reasons. There has been extensive protectionism in the public school system across districts, teaching methods, curricula, the protection of bad teachers, irresponsible spending of public funds, and the lack of funding or unequal funding of education. As a result, it feels like that, without fully trying to address those issues, the response is simply to send the money somewhere else.
Personally, if the goal is to send vouchers to private schools, I would rather not pay for education at all and instead put that money back into people’s pockets. That said, we do need education in this country. Before committing billions of taxpayer dollars each year to private companies at the state level, I would want to rethink and reframe the entire public education system.
I would be open to private companies operating within a public system through a public-private partnership. As it is set up now, it feels like taxpayer dollars are being transferred to private companies without sufficient oversight, responsibility, accountability, or transparency. If private options are part of the conversation around restructuring public education, then education entrepreneurs should be able to start and operate schools that function within, or are integrated into, the public education system.
Matt, you do know your friend AI that you wrote about earlier is going to change all of this. I would be interested in your thoughts about how AI can revolutionize education and obsolete all of your concerns.
ChatGPT or AI will be a tool that school districts can use, just like companies, hospitals, startups, or entrepreneurs do. It is only a tool. We still need good teachers, people who inspire creativity and teach students how to use that tool to achieve their goals.
The reality is that failing school districts have systemic problems that go far beyond access to technology. Simply throwing money at the problem or adding new tools does not automatically create better outcomes. Competition changes behavior. Incentives matter. And learning how to use AI to inspire students and develop their individual strengths is itself a critical skill.
According to Schopenhauer, I am one of the stupid ones. He would advise that getting into an argument with me, well that would be just plain stupid. You’ve been warned! Being stupid, unlike intelligent people, and seeing that there is a reasonable probability that my plan A may fail, I always try to have plan B ready to go. To do this, I try to gather information from intelligent people on all sides of an issue. So, then I can go through a mental exercise that if plan A fails, why did it, and what would I need to change to get plan B to succeed before ever putting plan A into action.
You say that AI is nothing but a tool. Maybe, maybe not. Years ago (I mean many years ago) my son was having great difficulty learning the multiplication tables. Realizing that he loved music, I had him sing them to me. Two days later, he had them down pat. I have been on some blog sites where teachers are discussing their embrace of AI as a learning tool. They are saying that AI has started teaching their students tailor made in a way that they can best learn. Music, cartoons, games, puzzles, you name it. Some say that AI is better at teaching than they are. Some have gone so far as to say that they can foresee their own demise. I am not a teacher, just a curious observer. So, I don’t vouch for the validity of their statements.
I must confess that I am not very versed on how to improve public education. Lately, I have been spending my free time trying to understand the conflict between Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity. Geez, can’t they just make up a fudge factor like Dark Matter and Dark Energy to solve the equations? They could call it the “Dimension of Strange Chronology!”
Anyway, all of this was just to say that your proposition intrigues me, but I am too stupid to really understand the pluses and minuses. I would like to copy your essay and send it to the members of the Guilford County Board of Education and see if they will give me their take on it. I don’t think NC has open enrollment so it would be relevant here. I’ll give you credit for writing it. Is this ok with you? Let me know.
Thank you for this, Doug. Let me address a few points directly.
First, on AI. I am not arguing that AI cannot teach skills or adapt to students’ aptitudes, or that it may not outperform teachers in certain narrow areas. AI is still a tool. A teacher is needed to facilitate learning, set direction, provide structure, inspire students, and encourage them when they fail. One of the most important roles of a good teacher is helping students recover from failure. You fall down, someone tells you it is not the end, and you try again. That matters. AI may help deliver core curriculum, but a good teacher ensures progress, balance, and growth, including core competencies like reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Second, the core argument of my article is about school districts carved up in inner cities. In the Cleveland area, some of the lowest-performing districts in the state trap students who may be capable, motivated, and ambitious, but have no realistic path out. In most areas of life, if you are born into a bad situation, there is at least some ability to escape through hard work, risk-taking, or moving elsewhere. In K–12 education, that option often does not exist. If you are assigned to a failing school district, you are stuck there, regardless of merit or effort. That is unacceptable.
Third, on open enrollment and vouchers. Whether Ohio or North Carolina currently has open enrollment is not the point. The question is whether open enrollment, or a voucher-based model, should be how public education operates. The goal is not to debate what options exist today, but whether competition would improve education and force schools to deliver higher-quality outcomes. I am interested in what we, as the public, can design to serve the greater good.
Finally, something tells me you have a few advanced degrees. That is usually the only way someone claims they are “too stupid” to do something. I am watching you closely, and I am not letting my guard down.
No advanced degrees but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. You can let your guard down. I am just a curious old man with a little extra time on my hands thanks to AI. If life evolves as you envision, I think you are right on. Seeing that your vision of evolution is at least as likely than not, I believe any discussion on how to improve “free” public education is an extremely worthy endeavor.
Personally, I am an advocate for public education. I attribute it to creating a large and strong middle class and being a main driver in human progress (creating opportunity for the best and brightest leading to more positive advancement of our species). Further, to siphon money away from public education and fund religious schools and private institutions, in my mind’s eye, is just plain stupid. As you imply, Caste system anyone? Even worse than now. Maybe that’s what proponents of school vouchers are going for. Who knows?
Having said this, I realize that public education has some serious issues that need to get fixed quickly if it is to survive and by and large agree with you. I think your hypothesis deserves serious consideration. Public school vouchers will lead to competition among public schools and therefore lead to a much better public education system. Public school vouchers will reward merit. Public school vouchers will create more equity. Did I miss any? Let’s test it.
But first, if it fails, what is plan B? Are public school vouchers even practical? Busing was an attempt to force zip code crossing. Was it successful? At least with busing, whole areas were bused. How is that going to work with busing individual children all over the place? Right now, a child in a district in Guilford County gets up at 6 AM to travel on a bus for two hours to get to school. Departs at 3:30 PM and returns after sunset. And yes, this is not a simple matter. Supportive transportation is crucial if this is to work. Also, I think Guilford County is comparable to Cleveland. Here you can request to be reassigned but you need to get approval, and you need to have a good reason. Not sure how Cleveland works.
Your arguments lead me to believe your bottom line has merit; however, I am just trying to think though all the possibilities and thought it would be fun to put it to someone who would have to implement it. If they don’t come up with any real barriers, I say let’s try it. After all, public schools have been used as testing grounds for all sorts of social experiments over the years. Why not try testing something that may improve them?
I am taking what you are proposing about public school vouchers seriously as I am assuming improving public education is your true concern. Don’t see any need to get in a give and take about your other observations or beliefs. Specialize in Athletics? Bless your heart. Please, no!
This is deeply wrong. We should fix all public schools. “Competition”
Something tells me you didn’t read the article.
… is nonsense. How does School A losing STEM kids to School B cause School A to improve?
Holy cow! Do you mean despite Brown vs Board of Education we still have segregation? Only now even more nuanced? I do think things are better now, but yes: people.
I hesitate to call it segregation because of the inherited meaning of that term, and I want to be more precise. However, the adult-perpetuated class warfare between school districts, which places children as the beneficiaries or victims of good and bad policy without regard for the overall good of education, is plainly apparent.
Agreed
"Public Schools Should Compete With Other Public Schools"
They should compete with all schools, hence the need for vouchers.
Hey, David, I am not completely writing it off. I just feel that we have jumped two steps ahead for a number of reasons. There has been extensive protectionism in the public school system across districts, teaching methods, curricula, the protection of bad teachers, irresponsible spending of public funds, and the lack of funding or unequal funding of education. As a result, it feels like that, without fully trying to address those issues, the response is simply to send the money somewhere else.
Personally, if the goal is to send vouchers to private schools, I would rather not pay for education at all and instead put that money back into people’s pockets. That said, we do need education in this country. Before committing billions of taxpayer dollars each year to private companies at the state level, I would want to rethink and reframe the entire public education system.
I would be open to private companies operating within a public system through a public-private partnership. As it is set up now, it feels like taxpayer dollars are being transferred to private companies without sufficient oversight, responsibility, accountability, or transparency. If private options are part of the conversation around restructuring public education, then education entrepreneurs should be able to start and operate schools that function within, or are integrated into, the public education system.
Matt, you do know your friend AI that you wrote about earlier is going to change all of this. I would be interested in your thoughts about how AI can revolutionize education and obsolete all of your concerns.
ChatGPT or AI will be a tool that school districts can use, just like companies, hospitals, startups, or entrepreneurs do. It is only a tool. We still need good teachers, people who inspire creativity and teach students how to use that tool to achieve their goals.
The reality is that failing school districts have systemic problems that go far beyond access to technology. Simply throwing money at the problem or adding new tools does not automatically create better outcomes. Competition changes behavior. Incentives matter. And learning how to use AI to inspire students and develop their individual strengths is itself a critical skill.
Matt,
According to Schopenhauer, I am one of the stupid ones. He would advise that getting into an argument with me, well that would be just plain stupid. You’ve been warned! Being stupid, unlike intelligent people, and seeing that there is a reasonable probability that my plan A may fail, I always try to have plan B ready to go. To do this, I try to gather information from intelligent people on all sides of an issue. So, then I can go through a mental exercise that if plan A fails, why did it, and what would I need to change to get plan B to succeed before ever putting plan A into action.
You say that AI is nothing but a tool. Maybe, maybe not. Years ago (I mean many years ago) my son was having great difficulty learning the multiplication tables. Realizing that he loved music, I had him sing them to me. Two days later, he had them down pat. I have been on some blog sites where teachers are discussing their embrace of AI as a learning tool. They are saying that AI has started teaching their students tailor made in a way that they can best learn. Music, cartoons, games, puzzles, you name it. Some say that AI is better at teaching than they are. Some have gone so far as to say that they can foresee their own demise. I am not a teacher, just a curious observer. So, I don’t vouch for the validity of their statements.
I must confess that I am not very versed on how to improve public education. Lately, I have been spending my free time trying to understand the conflict between Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity. Geez, can’t they just make up a fudge factor like Dark Matter and Dark Energy to solve the equations? They could call it the “Dimension of Strange Chronology!”
Anyway, all of this was just to say that your proposition intrigues me, but I am too stupid to really understand the pluses and minuses. I would like to copy your essay and send it to the members of the Guilford County Board of Education and see if they will give me their take on it. I don’t think NC has open enrollment so it would be relevant here. I’ll give you credit for writing it. Is this ok with you? Let me know.
Thanks
Doug
Thank you for this, Doug. Let me address a few points directly.
First, on AI. I am not arguing that AI cannot teach skills or adapt to students’ aptitudes, or that it may not outperform teachers in certain narrow areas. AI is still a tool. A teacher is needed to facilitate learning, set direction, provide structure, inspire students, and encourage them when they fail. One of the most important roles of a good teacher is helping students recover from failure. You fall down, someone tells you it is not the end, and you try again. That matters. AI may help deliver core curriculum, but a good teacher ensures progress, balance, and growth, including core competencies like reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Second, the core argument of my article is about school districts carved up in inner cities. In the Cleveland area, some of the lowest-performing districts in the state trap students who may be capable, motivated, and ambitious, but have no realistic path out. In most areas of life, if you are born into a bad situation, there is at least some ability to escape through hard work, risk-taking, or moving elsewhere. In K–12 education, that option often does not exist. If you are assigned to a failing school district, you are stuck there, regardless of merit or effort. That is unacceptable.
Third, on open enrollment and vouchers. Whether Ohio or North Carolina currently has open enrollment is not the point. The question is whether open enrollment, or a voucher-based model, should be how public education operates. The goal is not to debate what options exist today, but whether competition would improve education and force schools to deliver higher-quality outcomes. I am interested in what we, as the public, can design to serve the greater good.
Finally, something tells me you have a few advanced degrees. That is usually the only way someone claims they are “too stupid” to do something. I am watching you closely, and I am not letting my guard down.
No advanced degrees but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. You can let your guard down. I am just a curious old man with a little extra time on my hands thanks to AI. If life evolves as you envision, I think you are right on. Seeing that your vision of evolution is at least as likely than not, I believe any discussion on how to improve “free” public education is an extremely worthy endeavor.
Personally, I am an advocate for public education. I attribute it to creating a large and strong middle class and being a main driver in human progress (creating opportunity for the best and brightest leading to more positive advancement of our species). Further, to siphon money away from public education and fund religious schools and private institutions, in my mind’s eye, is just plain stupid. As you imply, Caste system anyone? Even worse than now. Maybe that’s what proponents of school vouchers are going for. Who knows?
Having said this, I realize that public education has some serious issues that need to get fixed quickly if it is to survive and by and large agree with you. I think your hypothesis deserves serious consideration. Public school vouchers will lead to competition among public schools and therefore lead to a much better public education system. Public school vouchers will reward merit. Public school vouchers will create more equity. Did I miss any? Let’s test it.
But first, if it fails, what is plan B? Are public school vouchers even practical? Busing was an attempt to force zip code crossing. Was it successful? At least with busing, whole areas were bused. How is that going to work with busing individual children all over the place? Right now, a child in a district in Guilford County gets up at 6 AM to travel on a bus for two hours to get to school. Departs at 3:30 PM and returns after sunset. And yes, this is not a simple matter. Supportive transportation is crucial if this is to work. Also, I think Guilford County is comparable to Cleveland. Here you can request to be reassigned but you need to get approval, and you need to have a good reason. Not sure how Cleveland works.
Your arguments lead me to believe your bottom line has merit; however, I am just trying to think though all the possibilities and thought it would be fun to put it to someone who would have to implement it. If they don’t come up with any real barriers, I say let’s try it. After all, public schools have been used as testing grounds for all sorts of social experiments over the years. Why not try testing something that may improve them?
I am taking what you are proposing about public school vouchers seriously as I am assuming improving public education is your true concern. Don’t see any need to get in a give and take about your other observations or beliefs. Specialize in Athletics? Bless your heart. Please, no!
Doug
Thank you for the support Doug! I will continue to have thoughtful conversation about the state of things