FEI #3

The Role of Government in Education

Subsidize: A gift of public money to a private person or company. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Part 1_

How can government intervention in education be rationalized?  Government intervention can be rationalized by “neighborhood effects” and paternalistic concern for children and other irresponsible individuals. Neighborhood effects are things like: individuals influencing their peers, Individuals decisions reflecting large costs on others, or people not being able to compensate.

Part 2_

I agree that if parents were responsible for paying for children’s schooling would definitely equalize the social and private costs of have children and so promote a better distribution of family by size! I can relate to this idea because I work in inner city schooling system and feel as if there is no control or responsibility taken by parents in caring for the child or how many children they have. I see it every day. Everyone is related in one way or another. But then again there could be a negative effect.  Many of my students have extremely poor attendance. Although there are truancy rules and regulations, there are so many offenders in my school that they are rarely looked into. If parents were responsible for paying for their child’s education, many of my students wouldn’t even be enrolled in school. If education is not important to the parent, then education is not important to the child. With the school I work at being a 100% poverty school, most all families depend on government assistance. I read in the article that needy families would receive assistance. But maybe this idea of charging for schooling would just put more pressure on the middle class who are usually working the hardest to maintain economic freedom anyways. In the community where I work as a first grade teacher, many students will not be provided with meals for days when at home, but will always have a brand new pair of Jordan’s. Government assistance is great in some ways but seems to abused and unmonitored. But once again if these parents have to pay for their child to attend school, there may be more children going without an education. This article began by stating that a general education is vital in becoming a functioning member of our democratic society. So in turn, I feel as though this idea is great, it is also unrealistic in today’s world.  I also feel that “neighborhood effects” are very real.  Through parent expectations of education, taxes, religious preferences, social influences, and government involvement, neighborhood effects are still today all around us. As an educator, I do not feel that one type of schooling is better than the other. All people are influenced through their home life, experiences, and education and as long as each type of school embraces these things, than a child will be able to become a functional member of our democratic society.

Part 3_  When the author speaks about Technical Monopoly, He suggests that since transportation services have gotten better over time, this creates more equal opportunities for students to have more options in their schooling. On the other hand, there are situations where I work where there is no busing. Parents cannot afford a car and so their child who is in first grade has to take public transportation to school each day by themselves. This is very dangerous for a young child to do on their own. Technical Monopoly still exists and I know about it firsthand. The children who attend the school I work at have no other choice to go anywhere else because of their transportation needs as well as family size.