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Entitlement verses Privilege in Education
I think we can all agree that our public education system is falling short of expectation. There are too many kids that are finishing their education below standards or not finishing at all. With all the efforts of the federal and state governments to provide the best free and public education, why are we falling short. There are extra funds, special programs, rules, regulations etc and still we are failing to meet the educational needs of many of America's children. So what are we doing wrong?
I personally think that the issue is how we view public education. I think instead of viewing it as the privilege it is, we view it as an entitlement. American's have the privilege of a public education because we are a rich nation; we don't have to pick who in our society can best benefit, we have enough resources to provided education for everyone.
Instead of Americans viewing education as the privilege it is, we view it as an entitlement. Entitlement implies that a person has a guarantee of access to benefits bases on established rights or by legislation. To me, that means that you get what is being given regardless of what you are able to contribute. It is a freebie that cannot be denied to you, NO MATTER WHAT.
While I am not advocating for denying any child a free and public education, I do think we need to invoke some standards for participation in the public education system. I think we need to be able to make rules and enforce those rules without being sued. I think parents/kids should be held accountable for being on time, for coming to school properly attired, for behaving per the student handbook, etc. Children that are late, children that miss a lot of school, children that misbehave, children that are not clean or dressed appropriately are not prepared to benefit from their education. They are not prepared to take advantage of that privilege.
I think kids that we can identify as "at risk" need special learning environments, where those basic needs can be addressed as well as their educational needs. Having each school out there trying to do it all creates lots of barriers and gaps in education. Lots of resources are going to "at risk" kids and we are still largely failing them. We need to use our dollars better.
Entitlement has broken education and in my opinion; instead of being a nation using our free education as a tool to advance our nation, too many parents and kids just view it as a burden that they have to deal with.
What do you think?
I personally think that the issue is how we view public education. I think instead of viewing it as the privilege it is, we view it as an entitlement. American's have the privilege of a public education because we are a rich nation; we don't have to pick who in our society can best benefit, we have enough resources to provided education for everyone.
Instead of Americans viewing education as the privilege it is, we view it as an entitlement. Entitlement implies that a person has a guarantee of access to benefits bases on established rights or by legislation. To me, that means that you get what is being given regardless of what you are able to contribute. It is a freebie that cannot be denied to you, NO MATTER WHAT.
While I am not advocating for denying any child a free and public education, I do think we need to invoke some standards for participation in the public education system. I think we need to be able to make rules and enforce those rules without being sued. I think parents/kids should be held accountable for being on time, for coming to school properly attired, for behaving per the student handbook, etc. Children that are late, children that miss a lot of school, children that misbehave, children that are not clean or dressed appropriately are not prepared to benefit from their education. They are not prepared to take advantage of that privilege.
I think kids that we can identify as "at risk" need special learning environments, where those basic needs can be addressed as well as their educational needs. Having each school out there trying to do it all creates lots of barriers and gaps in education. Lots of resources are going to "at risk" kids and we are still largely failing them. We need to use our dollars better.
Entitlement has broken education and in my opinion; instead of being a nation using our free education as a tool to advance our nation, too many parents and kids just view it as a burden that they have to deal with.
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