[MD] Value and the Individual

[Platt Holden]

> [Platt]
> I sent my children to private schools where they leaned reading, 
> writing and arithmetic.
> 
> [Arlo]
> How many children from poor families were in your children's classes? 
> If someone can't afford that school, do we send them to work in the 
> factories instead? Or what?
> 
> [Platt]
> The also learned self-discipline, self-responsibility and the value 
> of individual liberty. In other words, they learned what today's 
> government schools fail to teach.
> 
> [Arlo]
> In other words they were brainwashed to be right-wing ideologues. 
> Great. Thankfully, my daughter has escaped this neocon brainwashing 
> by going to a public school where she learned the value of community, 
> of collaborative achievement and social participation.
> 
> [Krimel]
> My children attended public school and earned public scholarships that paid
> their way through state universities. As we speak the state universities are
> restricting freshman admissions as a result of under funding. Our local
> school board announced it will hire 900 fewer new teachers as a result of
> economic considerations.
> 
> I wonder where the money went?
> 
> Taxpayers in the United States have paid $522.5 billion for the Iraq War
> thus far. For the same amount of money, the following could have been
> provided: 
> 
> 38,313 New Elementary Schools, or
> 71,703,033 Head Start Places for Children, or
> 8,583,162 Elementary School Teachers, or
> 8,960,343 Music and Arts Teachers, or
> 80,782,313 Scholarships for University Students
> 
> Or you could mix and match at: www.costofwar.com 

Or all the above could have been wiped out by Saddam's chemical weapons.
 
> I would say that my kids learned a portion of the values both of you
> mentioned. Each learned something different, each in her kind. From essay
> contests and science fairs to the band and sports programs there were
> competitive programs emphasizing both individual and group effort. Each year
> in addition to recognizing athletics and academic achievements, schools
> honor students who provide thousands of public service hours in our
> community.

Funny that judges often punish criminals by sentencing them to hours of 
community service.
 
> Public schools have a host of problems but lack of funding contributes to
> all of them. Our reluctance to invest in future generations is a causality
> of the adage, "You can't solve a problem by throwing money at it." Instead
> we solve problems by defining them away, or denying that they exist. We hold
> car washes and bake sales to fill in gaps.

To see the fallacy of the "lack of funding" cry, check the cost-per-pupil 
in the Washington, D.C. school system and the results.