Public and Private Education

Exercise  As you come in, take out a sheet of paper and write a short paragraph (5 sentences) answering the following question:  If you could afford either, would you rather send your children to public or private school?  Make sure to include a clear claim answering the question and grounds explaining why.

Public and Private Education  Public:  Generally funded by the state/taxpayers.  Generally free or comparatively low-cost  Designed to educate as broad a quantity of students as possible  May suffer from lack of funding for facilities or teachers and overcrowding  Private:  Generally funded by a private organization or individuals  Generally fairly expensive, may require poorer students/families to shoulder debt  Designed to provide as high quality an education as possible to a select number of students  Can potentially obstruct social mobility, not designed to level the playing field (usually)

Education in the United States – Public Primary/Secondary  Public primary and secondary education is free and mandatory in the United States  Funds largely come from state and local governments, with some from the national government  Quality varies widely – wealthier neighborhoods generally have better-funded and better- performing schools  Curriculum is highly standardized with frequent testing, with some exceptions (charter schools).

Education in the United States – Private Primary/Secondary  About 10% of US students go to private school.  Average annual tuition is about $10,000.  About 80% are religiously-affiliated.  Curriculum is generally less regulated.  Students are more likely to be successful on national exams and attend college (prep schools).

Problems Facing US Primary/Secondary Education  Funding: State governments frequently cut funding for public education.  Achievement Gaps: Students in poorer public schools are much less likely to attend university than their counterparts in wealthy public or private schools. Racial achievement gaps exist.  Standardization: Evaluation of students is increasingly done by standardized tests, leaving the teacher little room to adapt to individual need.  Lack of good teachers: Public school teachers in particular require extensive credentials, are paid very little, are frequently blamed for problems in the system, and often work long hours.

Education in the United States – Public University  These schools receive funds from state government, allowing them to offer lower (but not free) tuition to state residents.  Average annual cost: about $15,000  Split between 2-year community colleges with vocational degrees and 4-year universities  Wide range of quality, some are world-class

Education in the United States – Private University  Funded privately, often by wealthy graduates and investments.  Includes the most famous US universities (Harvard, Yale, etc.)  Very expensive and selective, though the wealthiest often offer considerable financial aid.  Average annual cost: about $33,000  Also variable in quality, though the best are some of the world’s top universities.

Problems Facing US Higher Education  Funding: State governments also frequently slash funds typically given to public universities.  Cost: Most American families cannot pay the full price for university, meaning they rely on scholarships or loans, or they may not go. Average student debt is $29,400, and 7/10 students graduate with debt.  Brands/Selectivity: A small number of colleges with name recognition tend to get students jobs, while many other students graduate unemployed.  Priorities: Facilities, sports programs, and administration sometimes take precedence over academics.

German Higher Education in Comparison  Free for all students, better funded by German government  Much more focus on academics over student life  Fewer non-academic buildings  No sports facilities  Few dormitories  More focused curriculum – no general education followed by a major  Little administrative guidance

Possible Research Questions  How can the US education system deal with its current problems? Can it learn something from the German example, or will Germany regret its decision to go a different direction?  Is the Moroccan education system well-constructed as it is? If it were to make changes, should it do so on the American model, the German model, or some other option?  Is it better for an education system to be predominantly public (free, open) or predominantly private (selective, expensive)? Which better serves the country as a whole?

Grounds  Claims provide a starting point for an argument, but how do we verify their validity?  The key question: What do you have to go on?  Grounds: specific facts, observations, statistics, previous conclusions, or other information that support a claim  Not general theories about how things work but specfic information

Common Ground  Facts can only work as grounds if both people in a debate agree that they are facts.  Otherwise, the argument becomes an argument about the validity of the facts, not the validity of the original claim.  If both people agree on the facts, then they can have an argument about what conclusions should be drawn based on the facts

Questioning Grounds  While some grounds may be agreed upon as true facts, others may themselves be claims that need further investigation.  Example:  C: Real Madrid is a better football/soccer team than Barcelona  G: Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s best forward.  But is Cristiano Ronaldo really the world’s best forward? If this is true, it supports the original claim, but it is itself a claim that must be proven with statistics, anecdotes, etc.

Visualizing Arguments  This seems simple at the moment, but it will get more complicated. Grounds (F1, F2, F3) Claim

Argument Chain Ground 2 Grounds 1 = Claim 2 Claim 1

Evaluating Claims Based on Grounds  Even if grounds are true, they may or may not be sufficient to prove the claim.  They may be too few. One Real Madrid player being good does not necessarily prove the team’s superiority.  They may be irrelevant. Team chemistry may matter more than the individual skills of the team’s players.

Types of Grounds  Legal: If a person’s actions break the law, then they serve as grounds for that person’s guilt.  Predictions: If certain events have transpired that are indicative of future events, then they serve as grounds that those future events will come to pass.  Artistic: If a work of art contains certain features that can be agreed to be beautiful, then those features serve as grounds for its merit.

Exercise  In groups of 4 or 5, look at the following claims from the article on Moroccan education. Decide what grounds would be necessary to prove each claim.  1. Problems in Moroccan universities stem from problems in the overall economy.  2. Grouping universities together (“hubs”) and more science research will improve university education.  3. Problems in Moroccan universities cannot be addressed before making reforms at the primary/secondary level.