Friday, May 20, 2011

Competing Morality

I am still scratching my head over the pronouncement, in the Racine Journal Times yesterday, by "public school officials," that school vouchers are "morally wrong."

From what moral system does this pronouncement flow? Since this is the public schools with their exquisite sensitivity about the separation of church and state, I am quite certain that this is not stemming from a traditional religious morality.

That leaves us with a secular progressive, godless based morality, and indeed, according to that system of morality, vouchers would be "morally wrong." Wrong because it weakens the state, which wants to be the ultimate authority on all issues, moral or otherwise. Wrong because it violates the belief that the state, given proper resources, will best prepare students for the future - a secularly progressive future.

Let us not kid ourselves. The public school system teaches religion all day long. It is a secular progressive religion and the state is the ultimate source of all that is good. And it doesn't want its religion having to compete against any others. Is it any wonder they thing vouchers are "morally wrong?"

7 comments:

Sean Cranley said...

Both religion and morality are both the result of evolution, they're genetic. The difference between religious and secular morality is superficial.

It is a universal trait of human societies that sins are those acts committed by individuals for their own self interest to the detriment of the larger community on which we humans all depend for not only our well being, but our very survival.

By contrast virtues are those acts performed by individuals without a direct self interest to benefit the larger community.

School vouchers and the hidden agenda of privatization are completely the product of the selfish intertests of the Privateers. Hence they are immoral or, if you will, sinful.

Denis Navratil said...

The difference between belief systems with and without a God/supernatural creator are hardly superficial. Wrong as well on the motivation for vouchers. Rather than being selfish, it is the beginning of the destruction of a selfish system that exists to serve the interests of the adults to the obvious detriment of the children it purportedly serves.

Sean Cranley said...

Totally superficial dude as your unsupported pronouncement demonstrates.

The voucher privateering scam is ALL about the money. Why else would the Wall St. hedgefund managers be behind this effort?

If vouchers are so great, why does Gubner Wanker want to remove the requirement that voucher kids take he same tests as public school kids? That way there would be transparency and accountability with regard to what public is getting for their money. OF course I just answered my question. HE doesn't want people to continue to see more of the evidence that already exists. Voucher students do NO BETTER and often time wose than their public school counter-parts. That kind of evidence can't be allowed to get in the way of privateeering public money grab.

If this is such a great idea, why limit it to the areas where poverty is causing poor student performance (Milwaukee, Racine Beloit & Green Bay)? Why not Brookfield? They wouldn't put up with the dismantling of their schools that serve their children well.

It's about the children? HA! It's nuthin but a big $cam

Denis Navratil said...

Sean, Wall Street might just be motivated by greed. That is, they can expect to make more money if more people are educated well. Greed is good baby!

Regarding your love of state administered tests, I suspect it insincere insofar as lefties are always groaning about having to "teach to the test." As a great lover of statism, it is hardly surprising that you would want to heap regulations on voucher schools. But the market is a far superior regulator Sean, because, with vouchers, you can always take your money elsewhere.

And I agree that vouchers should ultimately be expanded beyond the poor areas.

Sean Cranley said...

Denis, hedge fund managers don't hire people. They move money around and cause financial disasters. Their interest in vouchers is only to get their fingers on the public's money. Welcome to Walmart Elementary.

You're right, I'm not a huge fan of standardized tests. But there should be some way of knowing if the public's money is getting a return. Remember Denis, there's gads of bad teachers out there, right? Some of them no doubt at voucher schools. You favor a merit system for teachers paid by the public, but oppose it for voucher schools. I smell hypocrisy.

Your faith in the all knowing unseen wisdom of the free market is indeed touching, bow down and have no other Gods before it!

So if the voucher folks can walk why aren't they doing it now, since all the evidence is that it is not working.

I heard a woman on the radio who tutored a voucher school student and she said the parents were pleased as could be because she was getting A's & B's. But she found that the student was completely behind grade level and that the grades were being inflated by the school to keep the parents happy. There's a good use of our tax dollars.

If privatization is such a great idea, why don't the Republicons just say that's what their plan is? Why is it that EVERYTHING the GOPsters do is a hidden agenda supported by lies?

Anonymous said...

Freedom of choice is one of the foundations that made our country great, and continues to do so, regardless of what Obama and his following are doing.
One sees more choice everyday - groceries, grocery stores, how we get news and media, types and styles of higher education, just look around.
The monopoly of the the state and the teachers' union on education is a dinosaur - it will go the way of the railroads and US postal system. Just a slow (and expensive) death.
I predict that in 10 years more WI students are using vouchers than are not.

Sean Cranley said...

I predict that if the Republicons succeed in their super secret school privateering $cam that they'll put a bait & switch like they always do.

The amount of public tax money allocated for vouchers will either get cut or fail to keep pace with inflation, leaving poor people of color in worse straights than they are now, still concentrated in the failing communities that are the root cause of the problem, but also with grossly underfunded schools.

It's not about choice. It's not about the children. It's about the money and a hidden agenda, based on lies, just like everything else the GOPsters do.