Can Teachers Own Their Own Schools? New Strategies of Educational Excellence [Paperback]

Richard K. Vedder (Author), Chester E. Finn Jr. (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0945999836 | ISBN-13: 978-0945999836 | Publication Date: July 1, 2000

Despite years of effort, internal reform of public schools has produced only limited success. In Can Teachers Own Their Own Schools?, Richard Vedder presents a bold plan in which teachers, administrators and others in the educational process would become the owners of schools. Privatized public schools would benefit from competition, market discipline, and the incentives essential to produce cost-effective, educational quality, and attract the additional funding and expertise needed to revolutionize school systems and foster vibrant communities with increased parental involvement and the innovation and efficiency essential to produce educational excellence.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nobody yet has found a foolproof formula for revitalizing American K-12 education. I commend Vedder’s pioneering ideas for your consideration." -- Chester E. Finn, Jr. former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Education

"Suggests schools owned and operated by teachers and administrators would offer a promising alternative to the present public school system." -- School Reform News

About the Author

Richard K. Vedder is Senior Fellow at The Independent Institute, Distinguished Professor of Economics at Ohio University, and author (with Lowell Gallaway) of Out of Work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: Independent Institute (July 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945999836
• ISBN-13: 978-0945999836
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,202,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 40 pages of Mulling, January 21, 2006

By 

Robert A. Williams "libertarian" (Oberlin, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Can Teachers Own Their Own Schools? New Strategies of Educational Excellence (Paperback)

It is true that state schools seldom are aware of the phrase "customer service". Therefore, Vedder's book held promise with the line "For-profit schools operating in a competitive environment that are owned in whole or part by the professionals who run them could be a promising alternative, certainly worth experimenting with". But it quickly disappoints because, in the words of the '80s Wendy's commercial, where's the beef?

When you open the book, the Table of Contents reads 1)Introduction; 2) American Education: Poor Outcomes and Declining Efficiency; 3) Long Term Benefits of the For-Profit Approach; 4) A Historical Perspective on For-Profit Schools; 5) For-Profit Education in America Today; 6) Illustrating the "ESOP" Approach to Public Education"; and 7) Conclusion.

He cites monetary statistics for England as late as 1875, but fails to account for inflation or the exchange rate. One pound sterling in the early 1800s was equal to $100 of today's greenbacks, but Vedder says "and less than one pound for every child between the ages of five and fourteen". He also neglects to say that until 1867, two years after African-Americans won the right to vote, did Englishmen win the right to vote - until then, only the landlords voted that made up 2% of the total population and dictated to the other 98%. His understanding of schooling, both private and state, in England is not quite there - he quotes Herbert Spencer that "We may be quite sure that a state education would be administered for the advantage of those in power", but seems to not know that the 2% who could vote did indeed invent state schooling in reaction to the Quakers method of Bible-reading borrowed from Indian Muslims at Madras on Qur'aan-reading. Fearing a Jacobin revolution once the population began to read, they invented state schooling. Prior to that, education was a sham in England; only elites had access to it.

There are many more caveats - Vedder does not distinguish between corporate and private, between corporate that sucks up state monies and private that struggles on tuition and donations. In the real world, for-profit schools do not exist at the elementary and secondary school levels apart from Challenger Schools in California and Utah. All primary and secondary schools are subsidized by either donations or tax monies in addition to any tutiton charged.

The concept of teacher-owned schools is one that needs to be yet be explored, using ethnographic participant-observations of just such schools. A better book for someone wanting to start their own school is Robert Love's "How to Start Your Own School", which is based on the actual experiences of the Wichita Collegiate School.