Free Essays on School Vouchers Analyzed

Proposals to use private school vouchers, a marketplace strategy, as a mechanism by which to improve the general quality of public education have produced a lively debate. Frequently, that debate has degenerated into a disagreement about whether public schools are as good as private schools or whether a given private school is better than a certain neighborhood public school.Other issues raised in these discussions include the appropriate use of public funds, the role of competition in improving public education, and the right of parents to choose a school for their children. Although these issues are of interest, they are not the fundamental questions which must be raised about the future of public schools in a democracy.Two Core Issues In their rush to the marketplace, the proponents of private school choice supported by public funds have chosen to ignore two core issues. First, the advocates of private school choice studiously avoid any discussion of the relationship between public schools and the common or public good in a democracy. As an example, the Governor of Wisconsin asserts that "any school that serves the public is a public school" and should therefore receive public funds through a voucher system. There is no recognition in this proposal of the distinct and unique purpose of public education in serving the public good. This rhetorical sleight-of-hand does not mean that a private school of choice becomes a public school in purpose simply by so defining it. The claim is merely a device to divert public funds for private purposes. The failure to recognize that public schools have a central responsibility in a democratic society is further evidenced by the work of John Chubb and Terry Moe, who argue that improving the efficiency and quality of public education will require the replacement of democratic governance by market mechanisms. The authors state, "The most basic... Free Essays on School Vouchers Analyzed Free Essays on School Vouchers Analyzed Proposals to use private school vouchers, a marketplace strategy, as a mechanism by which to improve the general quality of public education have produced a lively debate. Frequently, that debate has degenerated into a disagreement about whether public schools are as good as private schools or whether a given private school is better than a certain neighborhood public school.Other issues raised in these discussions include the appropriate use of public funds, the role of competition in improving public education, and the right of parents to choose a school for their children. Although these issues are of interest, they are not the fundamental questions which must be raised about the future of public schools in a democracy.Two Core Issues In their rush to the marketplace, the proponents of private school choice supported by public funds have chosen to ignore two core issues. First, the advocates of private school choice studiously avoid any discussion of the relationship between public schools and the common or public good in a democracy. As an example, the Governor of Wisconsin asserts that "any school that serves the public is a public school" and should therefore receive public funds through a voucher system. There is no recognition in this proposal of the distinct and unique purpose of public education in serving the public good. This rhetorical sleight-of-hand does not mean that a private school of choice becomes a public school in purpose simply by so defining it. The claim is merely a device to divert public funds for private purposes. The failure to recognize that public schools have a central responsibility in a democratic society is further evidenced by the work of John Chubb and Terry Moe, who argue that improving the efficiency and quality of public education will require the replacement of democratic governance by market mechanisms. The authors state, "The most basic...

Inflation in Zimbabwe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Inflation in Zimbabwe - Essay Example These are permanent dollarization, joining the Common Monetary Area membership, usage of its dollar as the only legal tender and employment of variable regimes. However, in its conclusion and recommendation, the brief singles out joining of the CMA as the best choice for Zimbabwe to permanently curb its inflation. Situation brief When Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980, its dollar’s worth averaged $1.25 (Kramarenko et al. 2010). Over time, inflation rose steadily under the presidency of Robert Mugabe until towards the end of the 1990s when the confiscation of land from White settlers had negatively affected food production (Coomer & Gstraunthaler 2011). With the seizing of these commercial farms, foreign investors fled away leading to halting of manufacturing and reducing the supply of foreign currency needed for importation of goods. Tax revenue also reduced drastically. In order to ensure that the government funded its debts, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe increased its pr inting of currency causing a rise in inflation to triple digits as of 2001. ... Wines (2006) referred to this as one of the world’s highest inflation. As of July 2008, Zimbabwe was suffering a high inflation at 231 million percent per year. President Robert Mugabe employed various strategies so as to bring this inflation into control. The economy was turned over to the president’s closest allies in the National Security Council. Intelligence officers and loyal army officers were used in controlling key functions including tax collection and food security. Key supporters of the president had their salaries increased drastically to cushion them from the effects of the inflation with the central bank printing more notes. This instead led to hyperinflation due to the circulation of too many worthless Zimbabwean dollars. By November 2005, the inflation stood at 400% which edged in January 2006 to over 600% (Wines 2006). By June 2008, this was at 11.2 million percent per year and kept increasing in the subsequent months to over 231 million percent in 200 8 (Berger 2008). In January 2009, the 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note worth $30 was introduced into the circulation (Pindiriri 2012). The US dollar exchanged for Z$180 officially but fetched Z$8,000 in the black market. This was further worsened by the deadlock that existed between the Zanu-PF party of Robert Mugabe and the Movement for Democratic Change, the opposition. The closest Zimbabwe came to finding a solution was with the dollarization in February 2009 where authorities allowed for trade with five different currencies, though the US dollar became the principal (Pindiriri 2012). The use of the Zimbabwean dollar was discontinued. But this was considered as a short term measure that would not give a permanent solution to the problem of inflation in Zimbabwe. Therefore, the

Liberalism in International Political Economy Compared with Marxism Research Paper

Liberalism in International Political Economy Compared with Marxism and Realism - Research Paper Example Liberalism and Marxism (and Gramscianism) In the theory of Liberalism, Adam Smith is one of its well-known proponents. His ideas on liberal capitalism focus more on how behaviors and market competitions are controlled by the â€Å"invisible hand†, believing that merchants or individuals are relying on their own in contributing greatly to economic improvement without the need for the intervention of the government.4Also, the collective individual initiatives are just as important as the contribution of each individual, because morality done on a personal level and through the perspective of others is important in order to maintain order and peace under liberalism.5 In essence, under the theory of Liberalism, there is an assumption of having similar thoughts and ideas among people, which makes it easier to assess whether an individual’s actions will benefit others or not. ...This, in turn, will increase the likelihood that people will start thinking similarly, making it e asier to govern them.6 Also, there will be no inequality because everyone is experiencing similar circumstances, and unless there are problems in the ruling body itself, under Marxism there will be peace, equality, emancipation, and justice because people share the same ideas and beliefs like in Liberalism.7 Liberalism and Marxism may share some similarities such as the importance of equality, but these two theories differ in other aspects. For example, the core belief of Liberalism is that markets wield power over economic growth but does not increase the gaps between various social and economic classes because of morality. However, this is contested by Marxism ideas, saying that while everyone may acquire benefit from participating in trade and commerce, the equality of gains will not be absolute among all parties. Because of this, there can be the unequal distribution of wealth, with merchants gaining more wealth over members of the market or the consumers as the result of differ ing relative gains for the merchants and the consumers.8More often than not if there is the unequal distribution of commodities there is also an unequal distribution of wealth, and vice-versa. Also, Liberalism is highly-idealistic in terms of giving importance to morality, and the fact that the margin between the rich and the poor are not decreased this means that Liberalism does not function as it is supposed to because not all participants in commerce regularly engage in fair trade and fair markets.

Growing Up, The Catcher in the Rye Essay Example for Free

Growing Up, The Catcher in the Rye Essay A young man going through puberty, not knowing what he is doing or where he is headed, in a world in which he feels he doesnt belong in, and feels he is always around a bunch of phonies. This would describe the position of Holden Caulfield, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye (1951) written by J.D. Salinger. The book, all narrated by Holden in first person, in its very unique and humorous style, is about Holden, and all the troubles he has encountered through school, family, friends, and basically life. Holden has been expelled from a private school in Pennsylvania because of failing classes, and decides to go to New York for three days before going home to his disappointed parents. At the beginning of the novel, Holden seems to be like any other 16-year-old young man. But the novel progressively displays through various examples of symbolism that Holden has many problems coping with the world around him. Holden likes to reminisce about his childhood and visiting the Museum of Natural History in Central Park. He loved to visit the museum, for many reasons, and he even said that he got very happy when he thought about the museum. He tells us of the symbolic details in the museum, by saying, The best thing, though in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobodyd move. Nobodyd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you(121). Holden likes this kind of world, and wishes that he lived in it. He wishes things would stay unchanged and simple. Holden is almost scared by change, and cant handle the conflicts in his life. Another very symbolic example in the book is the title itself. On the first night of his three-night excursion, Holden decides to sneak into his house and visit his sister, Phoebe, who he adores very much. Phoebe asks Holden what he would like to do with his life. Holden ponders the question and tells Phoebe about the poem, Com in Through The Rye by Robert Burns. He tells Phoebe, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobodys aroundnobody big, I meanexcept me. And Im standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliffI mean if theyre running and they don look where theyre going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. Thats all Id do all day. Id just be the catcher in the rye and all(173). He wants  to save the kids of their innocence, and protect them from the adult world. This indicates Holdens insecurity of the world in which he lives in, and his disgust with becoming an adult. Holden is a very unique individual. He thinks he is different than everyone else he meets, and he is quick to point out how phony everybody else is. While in New York, Holden buys a red hunting hat. It was a very odd hat to wear out in public, especially at a prep school, and the other kids were always giving him a hard time for wearing it. Holden describes it, â€Å"It was this red hunting hat, with one of those very, very long peaks. It only cost me a buck. The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back—very corny, I’ll admit, but I liked it that way†(18). Holden is always proud that he is different than everybody around him, and he sees that hat as a part of his independence. He always likes to think that he is not a â€Å"phony† himself, and will do anything possible to show how different he is than all the other â€Å"phonies.† Another thing Holden likes to recollect is the lagoon in Central Park, and the ducks that occupied it. He ponders,† I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go. I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over†(13). Knowing it or not, Holden is curious about the ducks in the lagoon, because he himself doesn’t know where he is going, or how he is going to get there. He has been kicked out of numerous schools, and he needs a scapegoat such as the lagoon freezi ng over in order to find out where it is he is going. Holden shows the reader how disgusted and disturbed he is by this adult world in which he is growing into. He wishes to stay young, and keep everything simple, and to keep away from all the â€Å"phonies† out there. After recalling all the people he has met, and admitting how sick he is, Holden realizes that he is just as phony as everybody else. He ends the story, adding,† Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody†(214).

Essay --

When we analyze a work, it is easy to judge the characters by the standards of our time, but this is not very fair to them. They do not follow our rules; they follow the standards of their societies. In addition, unless the characters’ thoughts are revealed to us in soliloquies or asides, we cannot tell if the person knows of his or her actions’ consequences. To determine if a character is â€Å"good† or â€Å"bad,† we must set a standard and evaluate it for each text we examine. We shall define â€Å"goodness† as performing actions whose outcomes are net positive, intended or not, and â€Å"badness† as the opposite. Through this lens we shall examine King Claudius of Hamlet, discovering that while Claudius might be a good King, he is definitely not a good person. When we first meet Claudius, he is holding court and giving a very long and eloquent speech with frequent use of the â€Å"royal we.† He begins by unifying himself with the audience in grief over â€Å"our dear brother’s death† (1.2.1) and then explains he will marry Queen Gertrude to both solidify his rule and bring â€Å"mirth to funeral† (1.2.12). However, it is odd that King Hamlet’s son, Hamlet, did not inherit the throne. Claudius explains, referring to his near marriage, that the nobles â€Å"have freely gone / With this affair along† (1.2.15-6), so it is likely that he convinced the nobles to vote for him as King instead of Hamlet, who was away. Instead of taking the crown by force, which Laertes and Fortinbras will later attempt, Claudius became King without any harm whatsoever, excepting the murder of King Hamlet. His ease with the royal court and the trust he places in the nobles are signs of his good Kingship, however much hidden blood there may be. Claudius is not just friendly with the nobles. ... ...m; the poisoned goblet makes Hamlet realize Claudius’s plan and results in Hamlet killing him with the same goblet. Although we quickly see through Claudius’s sham, his â€Å"bad† qualities might be the reason for his â€Å"good† Kingship. After all, a King who is ambitious, manipulative, and selfish would want to keep the throne, and since Claudius dislikes confrontation, he has evidently decided to remain in power by being a just and wise ruler. He might have had the wrong motivations and a terrible character, but royal policies were, on the whole, good for Denmark. But we must not forget his terrible choice; instead of giving up his sins’ rewards, he chooses to keep them and kill Hamlet to assure his crown. Make no mistake, Claudius was a bad person, but Denmark had experienced an extraordinary King, ended with poisoned drink in his throat and poisoned sword in his chest.

How I Believe America has changed since 9/11

The 9/11 incident is a unique one being considered as one of the worst catastrophes not only in America but all over the world. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and of the Soviet Union in 1991 a period of extreme optimism opened, with markets triumphant and globalization as the universal panacea (Evans, 2003, para.3). Such nations who experienced failure in one way or another have shifted and depended on their sanguinity for success and advancement through the United States of America.However, after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the world was in shock that even the world’s greatest superpower has met some vulnerable moments against an uncertain force. The evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al Qaeda (Bush, 2001, para. 13).Following the 9/11 disaster, one aspect of change which should be analyzed is how Americans perceive freedom now after this event. U.S. President George W. Bush has applied an aggres sive and one-sided approach in dealing with the terrorist issue.The Bush administration is presently the prime mover of the long running â€Å"war on terrorism.† Everything has changed in the sense that the war on terrorism has given U.S. foreign policy a focus not seen since the height of the Cold War (Garrett, 2002, para. 1). The invasion and occupation of Iraq is a result (politically, of course, not logically)†¦(â€Å"What has changed since 9/11?,† 2006, para.2). Undaunted and unapologetic, the Bush administration continues to argue the virtues of staying the present course (Connetta, 2006, para. 6). Can the Americans live in the real essence of freedom with this road the Bush leadership is taking?Will the Bush Administration sacrifice civil liberty for the sake of national security? America has always takes pride of being a free nation embedded with dignity and glory. But after 9/11, the Americans have lived in fear, ambiguity and doubt.ReferencesBush, G.W. ( 2001). Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People. Retrieved July 28, 2007, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.htmlConnetta, C. (2006). Pyrrhus on the Potomac: How America's post-9/11 wars have undermined US national security. Retrieved July 28, 2007, from http://www.comw.org/pda/0609br18.htmlEvans, L. (2003). America and the World: What Has Changed Since 9/11? Retrieved July 28, 2007, from http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=3552Garrett, G. (2002). One year after 9/11: What Has Really Changed? Retrieved July 28, 2007, from http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=2617â€Å"What has changed since 9/11?† (2006). Retrieved July 28, 2007, from http://ask.metafilter.com/41748/What-has-changed-since-911  

Descriptive vs Normative Statements - 1298 Words

Question 1 To explain the distinction between Descriptive and Normative Statements one first has to understand the difference between Descriptive and Normative Ethics. Descriptive ethics primarily describes people’s moral beliefs, claims and behaviors. This form of ethics is studied primarily by psychologist, sociologist and anthropologist. With Normative ethics we deal with the attempt to discover what actions are in fact right or wrong, good or bad and what it takes to be a moral or immoral person. This area of ethics is studied more by philosophers and theologist. To simplify, Descriptive statements are statements about what is; while Normative statements are statements about what ought to be. When we describe what people believe†¦show more content†¦However, one definition is that laws are a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. By this definition we can already see why the study of ethics and laws should not be intertwined. The smoking gun in this claim is the statement, â€Å"guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior†. We see that the words social institutions are used. A social institution is nothing more thanShow MoreRelatedDeontological Moral Systems : Ethics1532 Words   |  7 Pagesthat no complete account of the universe is possible without reference to final causes...the principle of intrinsic finality which, according to Aristotle and St. Thomas, is primary, while extrinsic finality is derived and secondary. Aristotle s statement that nature adapts the organ to the function, and not the function to the organ... But, If organs are so many mechanisms, it remains to be indicated how these mechanisms were organized. 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