Chapter 3

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26807

The article above written by Ilana Mercer discusses the ongoing issue of public or private education. The question: should the government get involved in schools or should they leave it for private funding? According to the article, privately owned schools are the way to go. Why? It is simply because education is not a right. The only rights we “possess are to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness.” The government should only get involved to ensure that everyone can do their own business in a safe manner. Education is not a part of that. When schools are publicly owned, money does not magically appear. Someone has to pay for it. That would be the taxpayers. They have the right to “earn the money with which to educate their young.” But they shouldn’t have to pay for excess costs which will not benefit themselves. Mercer suggests that public education is a failing system anyways. Children who are struggling are put through therapy and troubled schools are rewarded with more money. Private education will allow for better, unregulated, independent education. Mercer also suggests that cutting taxes will allow individuals to pay for private schooling.

Although private education might now seem like the solution, is it really? Yes, private education does provide better services, but think of all the thriving economies in the world. They consist of USA, England, and Canada. What do they have in common? Government funded education. Although there are private schools that coexist among public schools, the governments play a major role in their country’s education system. They ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to an education, and in turn, the whole economy benefits. These third-party effects encourage governments to help fund for schooling. An educated population means a successful economy. Let’s take a look at some struggling economies. Countries in Africa such as Sierra Leone have drastically high illiteracy rates. These war struck countries are so busy fighting, that the corrupted governments do not have time to care for its citizens’ education. Private education will follow the same fate, but in a different way. They are not fighting wars, but competition will lead to high costs, and people will be left out. In 2001, American President George Bush announced his “No Child Left Behind Act” to increase standards in schools and to provide parents with more flexibility in choosing schools for their children. Here is another example of a government taking a large step into improving public education.

Public education is the way to go now and will continue to be the victor of the two in many years to come. There are just way too many flaws in a privately educated system. According to the philosopher Adam Smith, “society will be better off if everyone pursued his or her own self-interests...” If this is the case, then schools will compete so much that less fortunate families will have simply not enough money to pay for education. This will greatly affect the economic stabilization of a country and create negative third party effects. An uneducated population won’t benefit the economy, and the crime rates would most likely increase, affecting other people’s safety and pride in their country. Besides, private schools are not always better anyways. Through my experience, public schools can compete just as well with private schools, whether in academics or in sports. Although private schools generally perform better, some public schools can equal the task. As we are currently in the 21^st century, things are different. Technology is improving and science is better than religion. Most private schools are religious and how much can that actually benefit pupils when they are taught one way but are told to believe in another? Also, many private schools are segregated into all male or female schools. That isolates children from important social learning skills that many develop through their school years. So, are private really better or can public schools do the trick? You do the math.