Datapoint - Best Education in Austin
The current poll on the front page of News 8 Austin's website:
Where do you think kids get the best education?
- Public school
- Private school
- Home school
- Other
As of this writing, the results are:
| Public school | 117 | (22%) |
| Private school | 324 | (60%) |
| Home school | 67 | (12%) |
| Other | 36 | (7%) |
All the usual caveats apply about Internet polls, but this is a wonderful sign that some rationality still exists out there. More than 75% of the people polled preferred non-governmental education*. In today's demo-lingo, this is a landslide against government education.
*Of course, even what are termed private and charter schools are regulated and tampered with by the state, the recognition of which I doubt graced many minds taking this survey.
Comments
The failures of the current system do not prove that state sponsored education is any worse off than private education - ask people in other countries the same question and you may get an entirely different answer.
Also, the fact that about half as many people voted for home school as voted for public school would lead you to believe that home schooling is a viable replacement for the public education system. However, I would suggest that very few people are in a situation to home school their children.
I've read this blog for a long time, Chizza, so I know you understand - poll data is nice but most of the time doesn't mean shit. :)
Posted by: The Flamingo King | November 15, 2005 09:04 AM
[Scotty voice] Dammit, Tim, this is a reference point for future use, not a vehicle to save the state of education! [/Scotty voice]
There are interpretations of the poll that aren't favorable in the long run. Some voters probably ran the simple Costs More = Is Better equation through their minds and went with that. Others might have assumed that *anything* is better than what they see on a daily basis, without the experience of those other options to leaven their enthusiasm. A nontrivial may think public education sucks, but still want it there to provide the "safety net" for all. And there are undoubtedly some who think "best education" means a big-time infusion of religious philosophy and traditional WASP morality to the near-exclusion of other ideas, something that's been all but banned in today's public schools. I very much doubt I'm going to find much agreement with my position in these voters.
So, as you said, I'm hardly prepping my protest signs with statements like "70+% of Austin Rejects Government Involvement in What Ought to Be a Private Matter to Enable Us to Seek Out Our Own Values!"
By the way, the poll now stands at:
Public school
166 (23%)
Private school
427 (59%)
Home school
89 (12%)
Other
45 (6%)
Posted by: Drizz | November 15, 2005 12:46 PM
Put me down for "other".
Beyond the 3 "Rs", the best education
is The Street where one learns the real
lessons.
I've been edjicatyd beyond human ken, all the way
thru uni.
Didn't do me squat til I hit the street but
that magical parchment is what all the other
fools wanted to see, so I gave it to them.
I never made millionaire cuz I spent to much
time larnin' useless shit.
Posted by: jomama | November 17, 2005 09:30 AM
You're right, of course. There's no substitute for going out there and just doing things, living by your wits and such. Talk to me for five minutes and no one will give a damn about my high school diploma.
However, I also think there is no subsitute for a structured learning environment for abstract education. I wouldn't want to have the former without the latter.
Posted by: Drizz | November 17, 2005 03:15 PM