I have written in this blog about vouchers recently. I have real fears that vouchers could be used by the state as a Trojan Horse to co-opt and control private education. Today, I found a reason to be for them:

Vouchers a Poor Plan for Poor Schools

Jeff Hawkes article against vouchers is so slanted that it makes me want to be for vouchers. The problem that he fails to see is that vouchers are not there to “help poor schools”. They are a way for some poor kids to escape failing school districts. The first estimate that was mentioned in the paper was that 70% of the McCaskey students would be eligible. If my kids were trapped in a failing district, I would move heaven and earth (if I could) to get them out.

The underlying assumption in this article is that failing districts could answer all the problems of these children if they just had more money or that the real problem is that these children have poor (economically speaking) parents. He believes that the real problem is “economic segregation”. This phrase is as meaningless as it is incendiary. Segregated from what? By whom? He is obviously sort of insinuating something using Jim Crow language—it is hard to tell what he means or what he thinks the fix is.

Here is my assertion: Poor schools should be poor schools—i.e., schools that fail at education should have less funds. Mr. Hawkes it seems cares more about preserving poor schools rather than helping poor students.

Slow train still coming down the tracks. Vouchers would speed it up.