The Purpose(s) of Education, Public & Private

[Marie A. Failinger]

This is exactly my point, Rick--if we looked at non-tax-supported schools
as public also, then the discussion about what citizenship means would be
a pluralistic one--it would not be defined only by those schools the
government is willing to fund and the teachers the government is willing
to pay.  A religious school teacher could say, "this is MY definition of
what it means to be a citizen, which includes an understanding of the
state and citizenship responsibilities as a gift and responsibility from
God."  A secular school teacher could say, "my definition doesn't include
a transcendental reference point."  We would NOT privatize the former, as
if her definition were a matter of private taste, but we would also not
automatically assume that her definition is entitled to state tax support.
This might also have the effect of making corporations and other
non-governmental public entities take more responsibility for
education--if a capitalistic corporation felt that the government was too
Democratic/socialist in its educational approach, it might be more
inclined to fund a public (but non-tax-supported)school if it thought of
schools AS PUBLIC than if it conceptualized schools as private.
    By the same token, if an Amish school or New Life Baptist Academy
said, "our religious beliefs require us to educate our children separate
from the world, so they stay within a Christian milieu all of their
lives," we could take that claim more seriously as a Free Exercise claim
for an exemption from ALL government regulation (including curricular
selection) and ask what the real limits of parents' vs. children's rights
are.  This might (or might not) result in more autonomy for truly
privatized parochial schools; as it is, these cases tend to favor the
government's viewpoint on curriculum, education days, etc. pretty
strongly, although not always so.

 On Tue, 19 Aug 1997, richard duncan wrote:

>
> Hmmm. OK. Now, Marie, which one of us gets to *define* the term
> "citizenship role"? Well, since you got to draft the substantive
> rules about tax support, why not be fair and let me draft the
> definitions section?
>
> --
>                    ----------
>              Rick Duncan (rduncan at unlinfo.unl.edu)
>
> "Be of good courage,
>  And He shall strengthen your heart,
>  All you who hope in the Lord."
>        --Psalm 31:24
>


Marie A. Failinger
Hamline University School of Law
mfailing at piper.hamline.edu