School Vouchers are Against the Constitution :: Argumentative Persuasive Papers Education

School Vouchers are Against the Constitution One of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's recent education reforms is the two-year pilot program where education vouchers will be offered to poor kids from a district in New York City public schools. These students will be given on average $6,500 a year to pay for tuition at a private school (including religious ones). The money they receive will come from taxpayers. When the typical New Yorker dutifully gives Uncle Sam his hard-earned money every year, he is under the impression that his money will be used to fund government programs from which all will benefit. The reason public schools are free of charge is because the costs of running them have been paid through taxes. "Free education for all." Was that not one of the reasons immigrants flooded to America? Giuliani's program channels public money into private funds. He is indirectly endorsing private institutions with public money, and in 80 percent of the cases, these schools have religious affiliations. The last time I read the constitution, it declared a separation of church and state. In this situation, "state" would be the public schools, Giuliani, and tax-dollars. "Church" would be the private religious schools. Giuliani's plan fails to maintain this essential separation. Perhaps the mayor has forgotten that part. I mean, with all the jaywalkers that he has to keep track of, perhaps it would be unreasonable to expect him to institute a constitutional reform program. Legality aside, this Frankenstein remains riddled with flaws. Not all the poor students in New York City public schools are doing badly. That indicates something about the students who fail. I am a progeny of the New York City Public School system. From kindergarten to 12th grade my education has been a publicly funded affair. Ever since elementary school, I have seen many of my classmates flourish in the classroom while others have failed. The students of my elementary school were generally of the same economic and cultural (Italian) background, yet they varied in performance levels. I have found that some of my classmates just displayed no interest in school. Teachers and the system can only do so much. If a student does not care to learn, he or she will not learn no matter how good the education being given to him is. As to why the student is resistant to learning, that is an issue with little correlation to the quality of public schools. School Vouchers are Against the Constitution :: Argumentative Persuasive Papers Education School Vouchers are Against the Constitution One of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's recent education reforms is the two-year pilot program where education vouchers will be offered to poor kids from a district in New York City public schools. These students will be given on average $6,500 a year to pay for tuition at a private school (including religious ones). The money they receive will come from taxpayers. When the typical New Yorker dutifully gives Uncle Sam his hard-earned money every year, he is under the impression that his money will be used to fund government programs from which all will benefit. The reason public schools are free of charge is because the costs of running them have been paid through taxes. "Free education for all." Was that not one of the reasons immigrants flooded to America? Giuliani's program channels public money into private funds. He is indirectly endorsing private institutions with public money, and in 80 percent of the cases, these schools have religious affiliations. The last time I read the constitution, it declared a separation of church and state. In this situation, "state" would be the public schools, Giuliani, and tax-dollars. "Church" would be the private religious schools. Giuliani's plan fails to maintain this essential separation. Perhaps the mayor has forgotten that part. I mean, with all the jaywalkers that he has to keep track of, perhaps it would be unreasonable to expect him to institute a constitutional reform program. Legality aside, this Frankenstein remains riddled with flaws. Not all the poor students in New York City public schools are doing badly. That indicates something about the students who fail. I am a progeny of the New York City Public School system. From kindergarten to 12th grade my education has been a publicly funded affair. Ever since elementary school, I have seen many of my classmates flourish in the classroom while others have failed. The students of my elementary school were generally of the same economic and cultural (Italian) background, yet they varied in performance levels. I have found that some of my classmates just displayed no interest in school. Teachers and the system can only do so much. If a student does not care to learn, he or she will not learn no matter how good the education being given to him is. As to why the student is resistant to learning, that is an issue with little correlation to the quality of public schools.