re: #110 Decatur Deb

The only trouble is that we’re not Finnish (or Italian, where I sent my daughter for scuola media). The first effect of vouchers in my town would be to make our re-segregation more complete. When Brown v. was implemented we had an instantaneous crop of church schools and academies, some equipped with furnishings suddenly surplussed from the public system. We are still under federal court review.

No, no, not vouchers. Charter different than vouchers. Gah, this is tricky to talk about.

I am in no way supporting vouchers. Vouchers are a terrible, awful, shitty system that have all sorts of bad effects.

By charter schools, I’m just referring to greater autonomy on the part of the schools, not releasing them from their pledge to serve all members of the community, etc.

Really, the Finnish system can’t be described using our terms. It’s too different.

But yes, the problems we’d face in any system that gave greater autonomy to local schools would be what we’ve struggled with forever now: religion and racists.