Why Gay Kids Need School Choice
Jamey Rodemeyer, a handsome 14 year old from New York, took his own life. He was yet another canada goose outlet las vegas in canada goose outlet new york city what is an all too familiar pattern of a boy canada goose outlet who is gay, or perceived to be gay, being harassed and bullied constantly until he snaps and kills himself.
Days ago he posted on his blog, “I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens. What do I have to do so people will listen to me?” The thoughts that were going through his head were apparent in another post: “No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you’re the ones calling me faggot and tearing me down.” The response from other students was vicious:
Canada Goose online Jamey recorded a YouTube video about the abuse he suffered at school. He tried to muster the courage to go on. He said, “We were born this way. all you have to do, just love yourself and you’re canada goose factory outlet set.” But “we were born this way” just doesn’t sink in to the thugs at his school who harassed him. Jamey will go to his grave with a t shirt saying, “Born this way.” Canada Goose online
buy canada goose jacket Jamey’s father, Tim Rodemeyer, said that schools “have to somehow get the power away from the bully, and I don’t know how you do that. And that’s the biggest question in my mind, because if the bully has no power, he’s nobody.” buy canada goose jacket
canada goose black friday sale Jamey lamented that no one would listen to him about how badly he was being bullied. He was not alone. In case after case of gay kids killing themselves, I’ve read the press accounts, and the same theme kept reappearing. The parents and the kids were powerless. They canada goose outlet germany would go to the school to complain and then feel ignored. Here and there, feeble attempts would be made to address the problem, often through “education” programs. Well, considering how abstinence education has no impact on pregnancy or VD rates, why should we assume that “feel good programs” at the school will end bullying? canada goose black friday sale
canada goose clearance sale But there is another form of powerlessness that is happening here. Just as kids feel powerless against the gangs of bullies, parents are powerless, as well. Let us be honest about one feature of government education. It is a massive program where neither funding nor attendance is voluntary. Parents pay taxes for schools whether or not they use them, whether or not the schools are actually giving them value for their money. And clearly some of these schools have environments so toxic that kids are choosing to kill themselves rather than go back. canada goose clearance sale
Canada Goose Parka If you found yourself being harassed at the local grocery store, you’d tell the staff and expect them to do something about it. If they refused, you’d shop elsewhere. But public education is built on compulsion, not choice. Parents are free to remove their children and educate them someplace else, but that means they pay twice: once through taxes, and then again for the substitute they find. Many parents simply can’t do this once they finish paying for the school they hate, they can’t afford the school they want. Canada Goose Parka
Canada Goose Online The sad truth is that schools can afford to ignore complaining parents because those parents are not customers. If the parent finally gets fed up and remove the kid, it’s not as though the school is any worse off. There is little need to satisfy customers, because there are no customers. The education establishment likes to pretend that the customers get their say at the ballot box. At best, the canada goose outlet uk sale ballot box is a crude measure, and elections are easily influenced by the big money that pours in from unions. Politicians who run schools are far more interested in pleasing unions that donate millions to campaigns. An angry parent might storm off and they lose one vote. Compared to the big money, that’s of little concern. Canada Goose Online
canada goose factory sale So, the process goes on. Parents complain and are ignored. If they can afford to remove their son and enroll him somewhere else, they do so. The former school loses nothing. The parents end up paying twice. But, most can’t afford to pay twice, so the child stays there, and they keep begging. Most of the victims survive; some don’t. It’s a terribly canada goose outlet winnipeg address high price to pay. canada goose factory sale
canada goose clearance Just as kids are powerless, so are parents. Perhaps we need to seriously consider giving power over schools to the parents. I don’t mean give it to them collectively; that is just the same, failed political control all over again. It is ripe for corruption and manipulation. Give each parent the power over their own canada goose outlet black friday sale child. canada goose clearance
cheap canada goose uk Instead of funding schools, why getcanadagooseoutlet not fund students? Allow parents the choice of whichever school canada goose outlet store toronto they wish to use, and have the funding follow canada goose outlet store uk the student. Include private, non governmental schools, as well. Schools that fail to respond to the concerns of parents over bullying will find that losing a student also means losing income. It gives them an incentive to pay attention. Sadly, we would think that kids killing themselves would be sufficient motive to deal with the issue, but apparently it isn’t; otherwise it wouldn’t keep happening. cheap canada goose uk
Schools that fail to protect kids and create a safe learning environment would lose students to schools that did. We might, hopefully, even see some of the worst schools close down entirely while decent schools thrive.