It is interesting to note other research done by Cardus and Notre Dame U. showing that Mr. King is absolutely wrong:  http://www.cardus.ca/research/education/CES/

“Lead researcher Ray Pennings says the findings help shatter the stereotype that alternative schools have a negative impact on Canada’s multicultural fabric.

“The perception has been that independent schools were for rich kids and religious kooks who were focused on themselves,” said Pennings. “What the study actually shows is that whether it’s social engagement, donating or volunteering, the graduates of these schools are achieving the objectives of public education at equal or greater proportions than the public school systems.”

Graduates of non-government schools took part in more neighbourhood and community groups, but more significantly, they were more likely to vote and participate in grassroots movements.

Private school students also held higher-status jobs after they finished school.

Some background info - Did David King really have a conversion on the road to Damascus??

Or was it just maturing until an opportunity came up….....
” In 2010 King was recognized by the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Canadian Teachers’ Federation for his service to education.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Thomas_King

“In 2010 Mr. King was recognized by the Alberta Teachers’ Association and then by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation as a Friend of Education. He was also honoured by the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba as a Distinguished Lecturer (in 2007, on the subject of community, democracy and public education).” http://grassrootsdemocracy.ca/our-consultants/biography-of-david-king/

“A former education minister wants to get rid of the separate school systems in Alberta.”
Read more: http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/former-education-minister-wants-separate-school-systems-gone-1.581509#ixzz2gUfFm4cR

Although, I could not find what King meant concerning private schools - I am pretty sure it includes separate schools, homeschooling, private schools with tuition and and charter schools. On the Alberta Views web site - the article entitled written by King, Private Schools, Public Money? “Since the Progressive Conservative party formed government in 1971, provincial funding for private schools has gone from about 15-20 per cent to 70 per cent of the total annual per pupil operating assistance received by public and separate schools. “
http://www.albertaviews.ab.ca/

I have no way of verifying the above. However, its why I suspect private schools, have been expanded to include charter schools, homeschooling, and other alternative forms of education. On CBC radio - “Should public money pay for private schools?”  “We continue our look at back-to-school funding problems with a debate over private education. A former Alberta Education Minister has come out saying that private schools shouldn’t get money from public sources. We hear from David King on the show, and for a counterpoint, we reach out to Barbara Bierman of the Ontario Federation of Independent Schools. ”  http://www.cbc.ca/the180/excerpts/2013/09/11/should-public-money-pay-for-private-schools/

As for David King, there is a new breed coming out of Alberta - King is part of the movement, to put the ‘public’ back into democracy. Having one and all to participate and help the public sector to provide services. In other words, no choice but whatever the government is willing to provide. In education, below is what would be the ideal public education system.

“The new Act should explicitly acknowledge and commit to the principle that public education is the preferred institution for education, recognizing that public school education is unique for three reasons: 1) it is inclusive without pre-conditions of any kind and it is inclusive of all who are students and of all adults as part of the community that governs it; 2) it is a deliberate model of a civil democratic community, so the government of public school education is democratic and public school education exists to promote an understanding of, and commitment to, democracy; and, 3) local democracy and local community are the ground from which springs every other community and democratic understanding. Public school jurisdictions should be given meaningful natural person powers…..”  http://www.joebower.org/2012/02/david-king-on-albertas-education-act.html

Don’t know how the above squares with the little school law that makes attending school compulsory?? It is rather unfair for governing powers to take away the choice options from the parents and force them to used the public school as the only exclusive option. Not very democratic of King is it now?

pobod

I honestly feel the world would be a far better place if there were no private schools. I have zero doubt that public money for private schools is evil, a public subsidy to the already affluent. Since I believe that the world will be a better place when all religions die, I naturally do not favour funding religion in fact I believe churches, mosques, etc should be taxed.

The worst thing society can do if it claims to believe in merit is to give some students advantages that others do not get. I am a leveler in that sense.

In the meantime we are stuck with some private and some religious schools. The state should not encourage them in any way.

Of course some help out in food banks etc, they have the spare time, money and noblesse oblige to to some community service.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Private-as-well-as-public-school-failures-4858209.php

Well we are at it Doug, get rid of the tax credits and tax deductions for private schools and other policies such as making it easier for rich foreign students to get visas. Let us tax all the organizations such as unions to create a even playing field - where everybody pays taxes, to keep the politicians plump and happy.

Not taxing a religion and its holdings, goes all the way back to the Middle Ages. It is when the mad hungry bureaucracy of the political set (the kings and queens), got it into their heads that shaking the pockets of the peasants should be strictly done on an individual basis, leaving the churches alone. After all, they were doing yeoman service when it came to taking care of the sick, hunger, famine and other disasters that the politicians of the day had no time for.

That said, what Doug posted is simply another version of the above. “The worst thing society can do if it claims to believe in merit is to give some students advantages that others do not get. I am a leveler in that sense.”

Typical rant starting from the Middle Ages, refined by the 18th century and firmly entrenched throughout the political governance and operations of government, no matter the political stripes. Inequality for one and all and it goes by educating to the social-income class. Also known as teaching only to the best and brightest - the 30 %. Hey Doug, you ought to read the history why public education was created in the first place. Why the politicians brought it hook and sinker, including the bit of leveling the playing field. Now into the 21st century, the public schools are still doing their best, in educating students according to social-income class and more importantly teaching only to the 30 % of students that represents the best and the brightness. There is even a pipeline that leads some students to the nearest prison in their future, where there meet other prisoners, at least 75 % of the prisoners with low literacy and numeracy skills. Some wicked stories coming out of the prison walls, on the public schools that constantly denied education services to them. The kind of education services that the public education system don’t like to provide - remediation in reading, writing and numeracy.

The public education system has never once in their history ever leveled the playing field for students. The public education model and its very structure and operations are inherently unfair to all of the students. The public education system cannot and will not provide education services that reaches the full academic potential of each student, no matter the social-income status of the students.

Meanwhile, Doug is making a good living on providing private education services for the rich Chinese students, while he pontificates on the evils of private schools. Reminds me of the Family Compact gang in Ontario back in the 1800s - “. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Chateau Clique in Lower Canada. It was noted for its conservatism and opposition to democracy.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Compact

Don’t you just love the public subsidies within the public schools?  Schools according to the social-income status of the students and communities. The high rent district, no worries about peeling paint and leaky roofs. In the low rent district,  peeling paint, leaky roofs and $165 dollar charge to install a pencil sharpener. Back in the days of the Family Compact - “Grammar schools provided a classical education and were preparation for higher learning and entry into the law or the ministry. Entrance was limited by high tuition fees, even though they were government supported. Common schools for teaching basic education received little support or regulation in comparison at this time. Working class education was trades based through the Master-journeyman-apprentice relationship.”

Well, there is quite the history in Ontario and across Canada, that private schools have always been supported by the governments of the day. In the same way, there is lots of history showing how the political powers and the political bureaucracy have always shortchange public education in favour of their best interests and hidden agendas at the expense of the students.

As for public schools supporting the community - please give me a break. Its the public supporting the public schools whenever the schools are in need of shaking a few loose coins from the parents’ pocketbooks. After all its the 21st century, but the public education stakeholders still think they can shake down parents like it was back in the Middle Ages. Then have the gall to banned parents and community groups unless they pay a hefty rental fee for after-hour use.

Do the catholic school boards in Ontario have only religious kooks and a complete lack of ethnic diversity?  How about the French school boards—are they kooks and lacking in ethnic diversity as well?

OT:  is our education minister going to do anything about the math curriculum after all of the press coverage regarding how it’s failing our kids?  Why is no one asking?  Why aren’t the press and taxpayers all over the ministry to improve the way math is taught in our province?  Does our government know that all they have to do is wait and the press and taxpayers will all forget about it?

pobod

I have no problem with the French school boards. Quebec abolished Protestant and Catholic public education and replaced it with English and French public education, which is exactly what we should do. I don’t make a high priority to abolish RC education, the priests are doing a marvelous job of destroying the entire church on behalf of Anti-theists like me.

It costs about $1B in duplication of services to keep the RC boards. We can live with it as they become more secular every day. Even this new Pope is telling the church to deep six concerns about abortion and gay marriage and help the poor. Smart man.

I have zero doubt that the RC schools will implode of their own contradictions eventually. RC schools offer no academic advantage over public schools and their catholicism gets more diluted every week.

Meanwhile Doug - the public education school boards, there is a very long list of mismanagement of public monies. You can start in your back yard - the Toronto District School Board. And check out the law suits - 9 of them to be exact, and now of them would have been launched if the public school boards in Ontario did their job to delivered education services by the most efficient means and managing the public education monies.

pobod

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78myWACFrOw

Doug in his last post, presents a video that implies charter schools - “This week, corporate donors—whose ideologies created the Philadelphia school crisis—are gathered behind closed doors. These donors pumped billions into charter schools and school privatization efforts. They lobbied to close neighborhood public schools. And they pushed for devastating cuts to public education funding in Pennsylvania.”

Rather ironic - behind closed doors, meeting in secret is a hall mark of school boards. Another hall mark of the K to 12 education system, is educating according to ideologies of the education stakeholders. For the latter to blossom, the education stakeholders entrenches undemocratic processes to keep the parents and their communities silenced.

How democratic are the school boards…..........when the school boards bully and kicked parents out of meetings for asking questions?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNctJCzCXKY

Or here…..parents being arrested?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgoorfG_ARE

Or here concerning ideologies…..where parents are filing lawsuits for “One Hartford, Connecticut couple has filed a complaint against their local school district after a field trip during which their 12-year-old daughter and her classmates were forced to reenact slavery.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR8xttCB3B0

Or parents being gagged by the school district…... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrTcyrXlNG0

Or a parent being mocked at by school officials…...must see video….....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt719vZ4ktk

Not very democratic eh?  Why are the public education stakeholders against success using a different model?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di0-xN6xc_w

And just for good measure - “Economist Herb Stein famously said that something that can’t go on forever, won’t. For decades now, America has been putting ever-growing amounts of money into its K-12 education system, while getting steadily poorer results. Now parents are losing faith in public schools, new alternatives are appearing, and change is on the way.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXoubX4wncw

Meanwhile, back at the school board headquarters, plans are being hatched behind close doors without public debate…....from everything between A to Z…......to ensure that the public marches only to the tunes of the one-sized-fits-all education system according to the Gospel and Dogma of the education stakeholders. It appears that democracy principles have left the school boards’ buildings in the last few years…

pobod

The Fraud of K-12 on-line schools.

http://janresseger.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/new-website-exposes-privatization-focus-this-week-on-k-12-on-line-schools/

Concerning Doug’s link - the figure being used for cyber schools, to which all are in agreement - only 250,000 public school students across the United States are taking part in full-time cyber schools being offered by the public schools.

The vast majority of cyber programs by the pubic education system are in-house programs, with a minority of states offering private cyber schools.

As for the K to 12 cyber school outfit, the majority of their profit lies with the homeschoolers and other students lying outside of the public education system. Ever since some states are now offering private cyber schooling free for all students residing in the state, the homeschoolers have even less reasons to attend a public school, and the public students have more reasons to stay home, rather than attending a public school. In simple economics, the public schools are having more empty desks, that affects funding of the schools. 

Meanwhile back at the ranch of the public education district - the private cyber schools has become a choice destination to send the public school students who are low achievers and have behavioural problems. It is cyber schools or the alternative school for unruly students.