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... cause 1) the vouchers are for all private schools and also affect public schools, therefore they have a secular purpose; 2) The primary effect of the vouchers is to improve the quality of education and give everyone a chance to attend a private school; 3) By approving vouchers, the state is not entangled excessively in Church affairs. Therefore, voucher proponents argue that the Separation of Church and State should not affect the establishment of the Those against vouchers in the school system feel that the Separation of Church and State is a leading reason why they should not be allowed. After all, it does say in the first amendment of the Constitution of the U.
S. that, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion (US Constitution. com). This establishment clause explains that the government can not make any laws that affect a religious institution. Though this clause has been reinterpreted in the past, voucher opposers feel that it should be added by strictly in this case. This is because if government issues the vouchers, they will also have to overlook the handling of them, even if voucher advocator's do not want them there.
That, to opposers, is a total violation of the first amendment. The Constitution is the basis for all of the laws that Americans abide by, and this Opposers to private school vouchers often use the 1967 court case of Poindexter vs. Louisiana. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled against a voucher program in Louisiana which was designed to prevent public school segregation. The Court explicitly declared that "The United States Constitution does not permit the State to perform acts indirectly through private persons which it is forbidden to do directly. " (about.
com) That, of course, is exactly what vouchers do. Just as the government cannot subsidize churches by funneling money through private citizens, it cannot subsidize church schools by funneling Affect of Vouchers on Low- Income and Minority Students Proponents of school vouchers feel that the use of them by low-income and minority families will be of great help to the groups, who are more likely to get stuck in an unsatisfactory public school. Because low-income families often can not afford to attend private schools or move away to areas that provide quality public education, they have no other option but to stay and receive a less than mediocre education. Supporters of vouchers feel that if these students were allowed to attend a private school with the help of vouchers, it would increase the range of educational choices open to low-income families and reduce the education gap. (Coulson, Myth Conceptions About School Choice) Low-income families would be able to provide their children with a good education, which give them a better chance to move on, and be successful in the Supporters of vouchers also believe that the implementation of the program would promote integration among different races. With all children, no matter what race or economic standing, being able to receive a quality private education, there are better possibilities for the classrooms to be integrated. With more minorities receiving better educations, the vouchers will also help to lessen the racial gaps that exist.
Overall, supporters argue that vouchers will be good for everyone, because they will include everyone. Opposers of private school vouchers argue that the program will only help a select few, most of which will be those who do not need the help. As stated earlier, children who are already attending private schools will receive the vouchers to pay for their education. While some low-income and minority students may benefit from them, many of them will not because of tough acceptance practices. Since their educations have been less than average in the past, many will not have the ability to get into the private schools. For those that do get in, they face the challenge of being in classrooms with more advanced students and also not being able to handle the pace of the class work.
Those against vouchers also argue that many low-income families and minorities will not even take advantage of the vouchers. The programs will assist only the motivated poor, and leave the dysfunctional majority in schools that have even fewer resources and funds. (Knowles, Speak out. com) These motivated poor are the low-income families who have the time and desire to find importance in a good education. Even they sometimes can not afford to take advantage of the vouchers, due to the fact that they may not cover the whole tuition expense.
Beside tuition, there are also uniforms, books, and various other expenses that go along with a private school education. Opposers of school vouchers strongly believe that establishing these programs will only turn out to hurt low-income and minority students, and further widen the economic and racial gaps that exist. After carefully looking over and reading about the arguments that both the opposers and the supporters of private school vouchers have so arduously set forth, I have come to support the implementation of these programs. Before I began researching this topic, I did not know much about it except for the recollection of it being discussed in school, when I attended a Catholic private elementary school.
I have come this conclusion because I feel that the vouchers will truly help both the private and the public schools, and all of the students that If voucher programs are established, particularly in inner-city areas, it will give a boost to both the private and the public schools. Private schools will have higher attendance rates, and be able to put the funding that comes along with it toward the benefit of the children. Public schools will have a chance to give themselves much needed improvements, so that they can retain the students in the schools, and return to the great institutions that they once were. It will hopefully be a large wake-up call to the public school system to reexamine just where all of the money they are receiving is going.
It is certainly not going into a better education for the students -- the ones that should be benefiting from it. Children in both public and private schools will, in my opinion, benefit immensely if vouchers are used. Public school students will have the chance to leave these institutions and enter in to smaller, more education-oriented, private schools. Every student will have the chance to receive a good education that will give them more attention, which is something that many of them need.
Students who decide to stay in the public schools will hopefully experience a better education because the schools will have to change in order to compete with the private schools. Also, the normally large class sizes in the public schools will now be smaller due to the students leaving. Private school students will benefit because they will have the advantage of having classmates of various races and backgrounds in their class. This is good because this is how the real world is.
When students are in classes all their lives with children that are just like them, they never get to interact with others who are different, until it may be too late to prevent prejudice and ignorance. I truly feel the school vouchers are a great way to help both the schools and the children that attend them. Making a change like this, in my opinion, will truly help brighten the future for everyone. As the above information has shown, the debate over whether or not government should give vouchers to parents to send their children to private school has been one with many powerful arguments for each side.
Supporters of the vouchers believe that they are constitutional and that they will help both public schools and private schools, as well as low-income and minority students. Opposers, on the other hand, feel that the vouchers are unconstitutional because they violate the Separation of Church and State clause, that they will only drain money from the already needy public schools, and finally that they will hurt the low-income and minority students attending the public schools. After researching this issue, I too have come to my own conclusion -- that school vouchers should be offered to all students. Surely, though, this issue will continue to be debated over for a long time to come, until some sort of compromise can be made. Hopefully, by then it will not be too late to help those Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Low Income Families Separation Of Church And State
