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Fund the Children, Not the Schools

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Why is it that parents have so little control over where their children go to school? Unless you homeschool or send your child to a private school, you’re at the mercy of the government and the Teachers Unions. That needs to change. Corey DeAngelis, National Director of Research at the American Federation for Children, explains why.

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Script:

Fund the children, not the schools. 

If ever an idea’s time has come, it’s this one. 

What does it mean?

It means parents decide where to send their children to school, not the government. 

A radical idea? 

Hardly. 

The federal government already gives money to college students in the form of Pell Grants. The student decides which college he or she wants to go to, not the government. 

The same is true with the GI Bill. The veteran decides which school he wants to give his scholarship money to, not the government.

Taxpayer-funded pre-K programs such as Head Start follow the same model. Parents decide—not the government—which pre-school they want their child to attend. 

We don’t force low-income families to spend their food stamp dollars at government-run grocery stores. They can go anywhere they want: Walmart, Target, Safeway, or any other similar store. 

The time has come to apply the same logic to K through 12 education. It’s hard to believe that we haven’t done it before now.  

Fund the children, not the schools. 

The money is there. 

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that public schools spent about $16,000 per student in 2019. For some perspective, data from Private School Review shows that the average private school tuition is about $12,000 per student each year.

So, why is K through 12 education the outlier? As we have seen, in virtually every other area of life, people choose how to spend their money—even when the money comes from the government. 

But for some reason, parents aren’t allowed to decide the best K through 12 school for their children. Choice is the norm for pre-K and higher education. Why not for K through 12?

Well, there is a reason: It threatens a special interest. A very powerful one. 

The teachers’ unions. 

The unions argue that giving educational funds to parents “steals money” from public schools. 

But where did the idea come from that the funding “belongs” to the public schools in the first place?

That’s right: the teachers’ unions. 

The truth is the opposite: public schools “steal” money from families. School choice initiatives just return the money to the hands of the intended beneficiaries of the funding—students and their parents.

Allowing families to choose their grocery store doesn’t “steal” money from Safeway. Allowing families to choose their school doesn’t “steal” money from public schools.

Ironically, the argument by public school advocates that school choice would “defund” public schools is an admission of failure. Given a choice, a vast number of Americans would prefer almost any other school to their local public school.

But right now, there are few options for parents to express that dissatisfaction. Homeschooling is an option, but many parents believe—rightly or wrongly—that they can’t do it. A private school can be another option, but it may not be financially feasible.

This gives the unions tremendous leverage. We saw how they use that leverage during the Covid crisis.

After a school year of lockdowns, most private schools fought to return to in-person learning. The teachers’ unions did the opposite: they fought to stay out of the classroom.  

If parents had the power to say, “Bye-bye, I’m taking my child’s education dollars elsewhere,” the situation would have been much different. The teachers’ unions know this, which is why they scream bloody murder every time the word “choice” is even mentioned.

Here’s the irony—you might even say tragedy. When faced with competition, public schools do, in fact, up their game. 

Twenty-five of 27 studies—and the latest peer-reviewed meta-analysis on the topic—find that private school choice competition leads to better outcomes in public schools. 

For the complete script, visit: https://www.prageru.com/video/fund-the-children-not-the-schools

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37 Comments

  6. There are some good arguments for funding the children, not the schools. But, lets be honest.

    Being a teacher is a shitty job. No one wants to be a teacher and there is a great shortage of teachers in the US. Salary is a bowl of rice, and there is a lot of paperwork. No one wants to do it.

    If you encourage competitions among the schools, teachers will have to work more for the same salary. They would move to other jobs.

    Then, salaries of the teachers will need to be raised to attract new teachers, which means students will no longer need 12k per year, but 16, or even 20.

    And in the end the smartest move will prove to be the dummest.

    Thx for reading

  11. Fix Yourself (Personal Responsibility):
    -Make sure you do not sleep too late.
    -Get up early.
    -Clean and organize your house.
    -Do exercise to stay fit and healthy.
    -Stop interrupting random people.
    -Stop forcing random people to love you.
    -Stop comparing yourself to others.
    -Stop being a spoiled narcissist.
    -Have delayed gratification.
    -Have gratitude.
    -Have self-discipline.
    -Make peace with your family and your friends.
    -Take every opportunity that is given to you.
    -Get to school on time.
    -Get to college on time.
    -Get to work on time.
    -Stay educated.
    -Save up money without wasting it.
    -Pay your house bills on time.
    -Drive responsibly.
    -Do not drink alcohol.
    -Do not do drugs.
    -Do not gamble.
    -Do not smoke.
    -Do not have too much sugar.
    -Do not have too much sex.
    -Do not have kids out of wedlock.
    -Do not join any radical groups.
    -Do not commit crimes.
    I have a message for confused human beings around the world of every generation especially the younger generation coming from a young man myself born in 1998. I believe the younger generation needs to fix themselves rather than trying to fix other people in this world because in my honest opinion you cannot fix people it is up to people to fix themselves period.

  13. Ah yes, typical PragerU spreading misinformation by saying we need to defund our schools because they're bad but in reality the reasons they're bad is because nobody wants to fund them thanks to racism and that shit. Homeschooling isn't the solution to everything, as shown by the Covid-19 pandemic.

  14. If you are nodding your head along with this video, don't be fooled. This is not advocacy for choice, it's advocacy to keep children who cannot afford private school stuck in the turmoil of having worse education.

    Most families living on minimum wage cannot afford to spend additional money on school care. They're living paycheck to paycheck as is and the small amount they would get back if they weren't taxed directly for school funding would not equate to private school tuition. Unless the government removed truancy laws and provided grants to each family so they can send their children to the school of their choice (…wait a second, isn't that socialism?), this method will create an even wider educational divide between lower-income people and those that are financially comfortable.

    Before anyone jumps in, this gap isn't restricted to minorities but low-income Caucasians as well. IE, those who are privileged continue to benefit from it while those who are disadvantaged (including disadvantaged by a wealth gap regardless of race or ethnicity) continue to not be able to provide opportunities to their children to escape their situations.

    In summary, another video that doesn't use logic but instead points fingers in an effort to create an enemy of what is a noble profession. A profession that currently is criminally underpaid for educating our children day in and day out. Additional funding for schools may raise teacher salaries slightly but the more important reason to support additional funding is getting actual modern technology, nutritious food that doesn't taste like sand, textbooks created in this decade, and lots more into the hands of the children that need this and so much more to develop into the future leaders of the free world.

  15. Local politician had a meet and greet near me so I went. She was a retired teacher running for office so I wanted to know her thoughts on our education system and fixes.
    Here plan was to shutdown Charters and magnet schools and put those kids back in the general pop. She believed that these kids that usually did better in school would help the kids that struggle. I pointed out that it would likely hinder the progress of the better students…..she nodded acceptance of that. I pointed out that instead of having any kids excel all would be mediocre. She believed that was best.
    Guess what party she represented…..it starts with a D.

  16. prageru is so dumb, lots of families do not have access to more than one school which is public.
    You just want to privatize education, maybe students having access to a high-quality public school is just as good as a private school without cost and with equal opportunity.

  19. If the teachers unions are so powerful, how come teachers get paid significantly below the median for their education level? Blaming the teachers is like blaming the guy who flips your burger for the menu at Wendy’s. We have very little control over what the school does. In my state, it’s illegal to strike, so teachers have almost no leverage in negotiations. I don’t know any teacher that liked remote learning, but some understood it was necessary for safety. You want to take your child to private school? Fine, but don’t blame teachers. We’re just trying to do our jobs in adverse conditions for little pay because we think education is important.

  20. I never quite understood how throwing money at a school automatically makes educators better teachers and students more willing to do their homework, study, and really give an effort to do well in their academics. It is highway thievery. Corrupt people within school districts take the money and siphon it off into their own bank accounts. Meanwhile, no one cares about the students and the students go to school with no hope and without a prayer because, after all, it is those same people who are siphoning their funds intended to go towards enhancing the education process for the students who are adamant to have all forms of prayers removed from the schools, even though it is unconstitutional as it takes away a student’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

  24. Choice gives more power to the consumer thusly the everyday American. If you disagree with how a company does business if there is competition you can take your business else where. there needs to be more choice and competition than less.

  30. Look at all the liars in the comments. Public school is for society's good to ensure we have educated citizens.

    If you don't care about that then by all means pull your funding and wonder why crime and homelessness goes up

  33. Schools are “fake schools” now. Students get passing grades even if doing failing work. The students fail their standardized exams. However, they are provided with passing grades in the “fake schools,” and, apparently, that’s all that matters! And so it is now a race to the bottom. Funding students, funding schools… none of that matters, because grades are all faked now. Good luck American families.

    I got fired for being “too strict” as a teacher. I would not allow students to mock or sass me, lay on the floor, put their feet on desks, scream and yell in class, throw objects across the room or at me, wrestle or get physical with each other in the classroom, take out cell phones and tune out, party and socialize the entire class period… and this was in Texas. Even in Texas the students are in charge of the schools. Without grades determined by standardized exams there are no real “grades” issued to students, and the grading of students is as fake and phonied-up as is humanly possible. The students I taught for 3 weeks (until I was fired for being too strict) failed their standardized exam for 8th grade math — all except for 3 or 4 in each class. The school administration was NOT going to let me establish a genuine “safe” learning environment in my classroom. The pleasure of the students is the primary concern of the Principal of a school — grades are irrelevant. But, as I said, it’s all a done deal now, and public education is dead, and even private education is going the same way. I need to find another career. Oh, and don’t go propping up “parents” in this mess — the parents complained to the principal to have me fired for maintaining classroom order. Generally speaking; parents do not care about the education of their kids — don’t lie to yourself in this regard.

  34. For all you Leftists that think Public Schools are underfunded. Tax payers spend 150k to 200k per Urban Student and most of them can’t Read or Write or perform Math at an 8th grade level upon graduation. Money down a Rat Hole.

  37. One of many reasons I am not a union member. I've taught in private and public, and sent my own kids through both private and public. It always bugs me that I'm saving the state tens of thousands of dollars while paying for private school, and I recieve no compensation. I did a research paper during my graduate on school vouchers and the above is all correct, there are alot of misnomers out there on this topic. What you never hear, is that the Catholic Church started educating all children for free before the government was ever involved. The Church felt that it was a God given, basic human right to be educated. A few years later, with the land grant, the government also decided that all children should be educated. Here's the kicker, so called "public education" began as a voucher system, utilizing in part the private system already in place. The founders of "public education" never intended for the education of children to be left soley in control of the state!