tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12471112.post782289221818604690..comments2023-08-20T11:07:28.396+01:00Comments on Freeborn John: School choicePeter Risdonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17792275403997179926noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12471112.post-46662041266395992362009-07-25T16:47:35.183+01:002009-07-25T16:47:35.183+01:00"It seems likely that in a free market school..."It seems likely that in a free market schools would start to differentiate or specialise in these matters..."<br /><br />Absolutely right. A free market would destroy the top-down command-economy-style educational system, which could only be a good thing.Trooper Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01505221473081871071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12471112.post-25887409406786381462009-07-25T13:08:36.668+01:002009-07-25T13:08:36.668+01:00It's hard to see how you would stop parents co...It's hard to see how you would stop parents contributing to school budgets. <br /><br />Currently my children's schools use several means to extend their budget. From the use of jumble sales & raffles to the "suggested" cost of school trips with the proviso that should insufficient parents pay the full price (or more), the trip would be cancelled.<br /><br />Any socialist articulating a desire to stop such things would struggle. Moreover it's clear that transfers go on under the radar already. It's doubtful this could be prevented in toto.<br /><br />As to Chris' suggestion that school quality is limited by scalability. Grow too large and the quality goes. If so, this suggests that as a failing school shrank it might improve.<br /><br />Not that this is necessarily true but it is no less plausible than schools cannot be scaled.<br /><br />Not enough is said about the impact of different curricula and pedagogies. It seems likely that in a free market schools would start to differentiate or specialise in these matters. Currently the "correct" pedagogies are determined by "experts" (distorted of course by arguments between politicians and the educational establishment - eg. phonics) and then applied to all. Clearly, a market led solution would determine the "right" pedagogies by individual choice. By the same token I would expect to see schools that specialise various curricula.TDKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12471112.post-67619690303170810242009-07-24T16:55:36.638+01:002009-07-24T16:55:36.638+01:00I don't advocate this, though perhaps I put th...I don't advocate this, though perhaps I put that a bit too gently when I said it isn't entirely how I'd do things. It just strikes me as a good tactic for parts of the left. I've been thinking about doctrinal purity and tactical policy making recently.<br /><br />I think it would be a good tactic.<br /><br />Personally, I think parental input is vital for children, in every form it can take, and it's positively evil to try to block it just because a small minority are not good parents.Peter Risdonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17792275403997179926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12471112.post-60434120691560724152009-07-24T16:49:11.324+01:002009-07-24T16:49:11.324+01:00Peter,
I normally agree wholeheartedly with your ...Peter,<br /><br />I normally agree wholeheartedly with your posts but:<br /><br /><i>ban all parental input to school costs.</i><br /><br />How would this be achieved, in practice, without large infringements on liberty and the necessary state apparatus to impose such a ban? What would constitute a school, or `school costs?<br /><br />It would hardly ensure equality of opportunity anyway. What would be done about the hiring of private tutors? Why would spending money to improve your offsprings chances be any different in principle than spending time (through helping them with homework, say)? Or would we also ban parents from doing that? What about home education?<br /><br />and:<br /><br /><i>Any objections would be impossible to disguise as anything other than a wish to preserve hereditary privilege.</i><br /><br />Or perhaps merely a wish for individual liberty?<br /><br />And what is wrong with hereditary privilege if, as I infer from the context, you mean an individual choosing to help their children with the means at their disposal?Pedagoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05317817442220251363noreply@blogger.com