Vouchers the wet dream of libertarian. This is an ideological piece that has little grounding in reality.

There are "independent schools now, and its been shown time and time again their academic results and no different to state schools.

In Australia it is a fact that students from public schools achieve results at university that are about 5% better that what is predicted from their high school results.

Libertarian or most other philosophies have little to contribute to education.

The best approach to education is probably best described as the Socratic method. Students need to learn the principles of mathematics and science, particularly physics, and how civilization has reached its present situations. The balance of their education should be decided by their own individual interests.

Teaching students to respect their peers and how to analyze and discuss problems they might confront will improve their intellectual performance. The Clackmannanshire Trial showed how that can be achieved.

The report of that trial is available among the Online Opinion documents.

Yes Justin, Vouchers might stop the feather bedding of teachers by the teachers union. It might get rid of some of the air heads who want to produce nice rounded welfare recipients, rather than competent working independent folk, as one post above post suggests.

However this is not the problem. Teacher quality is a fair bit of it. When university was too expensive for average people, a large number of very bright students took a teacher's scholarship, as their only way of getting there. A lot of very bright people became teachers for a compulsory 5 years, & a lot stayed.

Today those people do something more interesting, or rewarding.

However the main problem is the capture of education by the feminists. Those who have studied math & physics all know that very few girls, or women can do it naturally, where for many boys it comes naturally. Girls brains are wired differently, more to literate areas than mathematic. The feminists hated that boys excelled & girls trailed.

They changed the curriculum, removing the stuff girls found hard, & even making some math questions require discussion, not a math answer. It worked too. More girls are in science subjects at uni, & uni students require remedial math courses before they have enough to even start learning.

Hell even some BSc. courses the math doesn't reach the junior high level of 35 years ago.

Yep, feminism has given us a host of well rounded ignoramuses. Enjoy our descent to the poor white trash oh the south Pacific.

I dont agree ,that most jobs need higher maths like algebra
or even science unless you are actually going to be some sort
scientist or maybe an inventor.

Accountants probably dont need algebra, or complicated physics they just need to basically add up and understand business principles and economics.

Teaching students those kind of maths adding to the pressure the kids already
feel at these higher. levels of studies is a waste of everybodys time. when its not relevant to most of the job market.

The only reason this kind of maths is so desirable to government and politicians is
the money that can be made for the treasury by new discoveries.

Im not knocking that, but I am saying that 90%of people dont need higher maths
and physics.

Of course men are better at these subjects. Just as Rainman the autistic bloke in the movie was. They have one track focus and spatial abilities, thiese are the evolutionary skills of hunters and territorial defenders. Women are more multitaskers and have superior linguistic skills and generally more compassion overall. Skills for nuturing and caring for
the nations future generation of children.

I should also mention the fact that
a professor recently called autism, a male spectrum disorder. Yes I know girls do have it. But the kind of, one focus, mathematical genuis and hyper artistic ability plus emotional detachment present in autism are male characteristics magnified to the extreme in autisic spectrum disorder.

So, male genius is not necessarily, superior to the more well balanced rounded female skills
but what Hasbeen says about education being feminised to the more verbal abilities is
true I believe and fostering and harnassing the genius inherent in the male autism
spectrum skills could result in great acheivements and benefits for mankind.

There are some benefits in the annoying lack of male relationship skills girls,
They are thick skulled to the point of genius. Not necessarily smart apart from the
skills their one tracked mind skills give them. In fact they seem to women to be very
lacking in other perceptions.