Re: Foxnews: Local Public School System Challenges Homeschoolers

[Art Burke <aburke@VANSD.ORG>]

Unfortunately for your thesis, the principle of "secession" was rejected in our polity some time ago, although its whimpers are still with us, as the business with Trent Lott reminds us.

Art

>>> ecrump@INTERVERSITY.ORG 12/12/02 05:43AM >>>
On Mon, 9 Dec 2002, Art Burke wrote:

> Eric ... What choice do you think "schools" have in refusing "state" and
> "federal" funds?  And what other ways are there for funding public
> schools?  I'm curious as to what you think is going on here.

There's nothing mysterious about what I think is going on, Art. It's a
common principle in our culture: Whoever pays gets a say. As long as money
includes obligation, it's important to pay attention to the intentions of
funding sources. In other words, if you're going to accept money from
someone or some organization, make sure you know what they expect from you
in return.

I've quit two jobs in recent years, one a good one with good pay and good
benefits and good people, when it became clear to me that the organization
I worked for had different ideas and directions in mind than I did. I took
huge pay cuts, but I did that gladly because the move was right. I was
liberated from having to comply with directives I didn't agree with, and
the organizations were liberated from having to contend with my
resistance. Worked out best for us all.

I'm suggesting that if schools (meaning the local teachers, students,
parents, administrators, and board members) do not like the requirements
of receiving federal and state money (such as testing the beejezus out of
the kids), they could just say no. They could rethink what they do and
how. They could rethink what they need and how to finance their work. They
could get creative and develop new ways to get education accomplished.

Schools, like many individuals, commonly think they have no choices when
actually what they have are difficult choices. They have options that
would require tolerance for uncertainty and a good deal of creativity and
innovation. As long as they feel yoked to the state teat, they won't
work together to solve the problem of how to educate the young. They will
keep on doing to their kids whatever Big Bureaucracy tells them to.

They aren't trapped by Big Bureaucracy and its Big (but growing less)
Money. They are trapped only by their own assumption that they are
trapped.  Escape is possible. They have only to escape.

--Eric Crump

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.