Percentage wise, there was a higher rate of literacy before the public school system was imposed on America.
I googled “literacy rates in America historical” and came up with this document HISTORICAL LITERACY RATES IN THE UNITED STATES.
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I would agree quite seriously. Consider this http://educationnext…oolsforthepoor/
That’s great evidence. This renders the rest of the argument moot. Thanks.
As a side note, what school are you at where Kindergarteners are doing algebra?
By the way, what I would add to the conclusion here is this:
Wherein “private schools” in the USA are currently the province of “rich people” (more or less), that is only because there is a free public alternative and there is a government-driven expectation of a very high-degree of quality (using that term loosely) which is not necessary for a “basic” education.
If there was no public education and no particular mandate, two things would happen:
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There would be a strata of private schools from cheap ones to expensive ones (as opposed to now, where it’s almost all expensive ones).
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There would a strata of products in schools, from full-on “college prep” to “basic reading and writing”.
These two things would conspire to ensure that almost our entire population is literate, which would in turn ensure that our Republic is filled mostly with those who can participate in it, thus making it stable. (I still don’t agree that in illiterate population would be stable under a system of liberty, but that point as you say is moot in today’s context).
How is it forced? It basically says that IF you want to vote and participate in our Republic THEN you must be literate–and in the name of preserving our Republic, we offer to make it a bit easier to do so (but still make you pay 100% ultimately). You’re free to say, “fine, I won’t vote” and keep your money.
Oh, ok. I understand what you mean now. You’re right, that’s not force. It would be fine, as long as it only affects voting privileges, not people’s individual rights.
I thought you were referring to actual forced taxation, where people with guns come over to collect.
P.S. Don’t get me wrong, the “right to self determination” is absolutely an individual right. But that doesn’t automatically make voting a right. Voting is a privilege earned by contributing to the government you’re voting about. You have the right to vote, if you contribute your fair share: that is the right to self determination.
I believe that answers your question about extending this practice to education, as well. No, that would not be appropriate, because it would in fact interfere with one’s right to self determination. That right carries with it only an obligation to contribute to the legitimate functions of government, not to make sure to give others an education (for whatever reason, even just so that they could vote too: that’s their problem, not mine).
It would be legitimate to make sure everyone who votes is educated in the relevant subjects, but not by giving everyone that education: by excluding those who aren’t.
If there was no public education and no particular mandate, two things would happen:
- There would be a strata of private schools from cheap ones to expensive ones (as opposed to now, where it’s almost all expensive ones).
True. Analogously, consider the U.K., where the NHS delivers health-care. They still have some private doctors, not just for rock-stars and rock-bands, but even for senior executives – particularly of multi-national countries. However, these doctors are really expensive.
Since the UK tries to cover a much larger segment of its population via a standard government-provided healthcare system, they end up with that, plus a very expensive system used by a very small segment of the population.
In the U.S., the various state mandates on health-insurance have forced very few stratas among doctors and hospitals. Not as uniform as U.K.'s NHS, and of far better quality, but still nowhere near the stratas that exist in countries where health care is relatively free of government control.
So, you’re right and the point applies more broadly: to health care and to any other sector where the government takes over and tries to provide the service to a large proportion of the population. Being the government, it often tries to be “fair”.
if people would accept that having various strata of education is fair and moral, and that various levels of health care are fair and moral, we would solve the two biggest problems that the U.S. voter’s moral code has caused, via government force.
As a side note, what school are you at where Kindergarteners are doing algebra?
Montessori School of Denver, but really any Montessori teacher worth their salt should have 25-50% of their kids to that level by 5 or 6.
To clarify, they are doing the rudimentary parts. Plotting lines, measuring with exponential units, understanding of squares and cubes, solving the binomial and trinomial cube puzzles and that sort of thing. They are not working out the quadratic equation or anything like that.