From: ask@sei.cmu.edu (Alan Koch)
Subject: True Free-market Education
Organization: The Software Engineering Institute
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 22:04:34 GMT


I was pleased to see the tongue-in-cheek comparison of state-run schools with
supermarkets.  But the more I pondered it, the more I realized that it missed
the mark.  The state-run grocery store still expected you to take the food
home, store it, prepare it, then feed it to the family.

So that model suggests that the government trusts us to purchase educational
materials and administer them at home -- FAR from the case.  Those of us who
home-school do so in spite of a VARST army of harassers at all levels.  The
message we get from all sources seems to say, "We don't trust you to know what
you are doing, or to do it effectively."

This might be an argueable point -- IF it did not fly in the face of the
available facts!  Dozens of studies of homeschooled vs institution-schooled
children have ALL shown that the home-schooled children did better than the
average institution-schooled child on every possible measure.  Like:
	Standardized test scores
	College entrance exams
	Social skills
	Leadership
	Study skills
(By "institution", I mean either public OR private schools.)

CLEARLY, the issue is not the children's well-being.  The issue is CONTROL.
"The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."  Whoever controls the
environment of our children can mold them into whatever they like.

No, the government does NOT belong in the education business at all.
Not in approving programs, and certainly not in providing it.  Maybe a
recommended allotment every here and there (like the RDA listings), but that's
about all.  

This whole discussion of vouchers begs the question.  I don't want to give
them my tax money and then get part of it back.  I want them to quit throwing
my money away all together.  If you believe in welfare, then maybe Education
Stamps could be handed out along with the food stamps, or maybe EduCaid cards
along with MediCaid; but no more than that.

If ever there was an issue that fits perfectly with the Libertarian
philosophy, it is home schooling.  Let's not push for vouchers, let's regain
control of our children's futures!

ask@sei.cmu.edu

Alan S. Koch
Software Engineering Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA  15213

P.S.  The education vs food post should be altered as follows:

There are no government-run supermarkets.  In fact, there are no supermarkets
at all.  There are only government-run cafeterias (and the wholesalers that
supply them.)  These cafeterias are paid for through property taxes, so the
"rich" will foot the bill, and all people can be served regardless of economic
position.

Each person must present himself to a cafeteria exactly three times per day
(at the prescribed times) to receive his daily allotment of food.  If he
partakes of food at other times or in other places, it does not count toward
his daily allotment.  He must eat all that is placed before him, and is
punnished if anything is refused.  (Personal preferences are ignored; all
people must partake of the same food.)

Anyone who does not present himself as prescribed is charged with truancy.  If
they persist in this behavior, they are hunted down and arrested.  Under
closer government supervision, such bad behavior will not be given an
opportunity to repeat itself.

There are a few private cafeterias, but few peopole can afford their prices
after paying the property taxes which support the government-run cafeterias.
Most people believe the costs of private cafeterias to be very high (anywhere
from $5 to $25 per meal per person!), but those prices pale when compared with
the $100 per meal per person that the government-run cafeterias must collect
in taxes.

There is also a small number of families who have actually installed kitchens
in their homes.  These hardy souls catch (or grow) and prepare their own food.
They have even proven to be able to decide for themselves what they should eat
at each meal!  Independant tests have proven these people to be better
nourished than their government-fed counterparts, but the government-run
cafeterias are not interested in studying these folks' menus.  Of course, many
of these "home eaters" operate "underground" in order to avoid Big Brother's
gaze.

There are a few "home eaters" who operate under the regulations that the
government has placed on them.  This regulation varies from state-to-state,
but generally involves oversight by a government-trained nutritionist, regular
reporting of eating habits to the local cafeteria superintendant, and
evaluation of the entire eating program with remediation as prescribed by the
local cafeteria superintendant.  And the superintendant is always on the
lookout for those who are missing socialization experiences because of eating
in such a secluded setting.  (Sure, they eat with friends every once in a
while, but can that really compare with sharing dinner with several thousand
people in a large hall?)

All in all, the government-run cafeterias have met with great success.  Most
of the population seems to cluster around the norm of the expected bell-shaped
curve of nutritional attainment.  Only 5% to 10% of these who are fed die of
malnutrition, with another 5-10% being truely obese.  Results which are
entirely expected and natural.  

Yes, all things considered, why would anyone want to eat at home?