Like many other Gators, I was born and raised here in the Sunshine State. I’ve never lived anywhere else, so I am a product of the Florida school system.
Unlike some Gators, I had the misfortune of attending a private school until seventh grade. It wasn’t all bad, but by about sixth grade, I knew I had to switch schools. The work was too easy. When I did transfer to a public school, not only was I stimulated by the better education I received, but I was also able to engage in a number of electives and extracurriculars unavailable at the private schools I attended.
It’s also worth noting these schools were Christian. We had chapel on Wednesdays and an hour of Bible instruction daily. I was a devout Christian growing up, attended church three times a week and wanted to be a preacher. I loved the private schools I went to, but not as much as the public schools.
Private schools are good because they give parents choices in their children’s education. But despite a reputation for giving students a superior education, studies show that isn’t true. Many of them are also religious.
To give low-income families an opportunity to attend these supposedly superior private schools, 14 states use tax dollars to offer vouchers so children can attend. There is an issue here: Taxpayer dollars are going to fund religious instruction. If that isn’t a breach of the separation of church and state, I don’t know what is.
At one end of the spectrum, religious parents are afraid of teachers indoctrinating their children with theories of how the world formed that differ from their own. On the other end are taxpayers who don’t follow Christian ideology and don’t want to pay for an education they also feel indoctrinates youth with values contrary to their own. In the middle, a big mess.
There’s a lot that needs fixing in America’s schools. This isn’t the way to do it.
According to Politico, numerous studies have found there is little educational benefit to attending private schools. Plus, private schools aren’t held to the same standards as public schools. Instead of teaching evolution in an all-encompassing way, they teach children only how to refute it. One example offered is that genetic mutations result in a loss of genetic information, evidently meaning evolution is impossible. Yes, I was actually taught this at the school I attended. No, it isn’t true.
As a contrast, creation is not taught in public schools, and evolution is taught in an objective way. And even though evolution is taught, 60 percent of biology teachers tone down lessons on evolution to avoid controversy.
Some states even allow parents to pull their kids out of class when evolution is taught. But no one seems upset when children learn the Earth orbits the sun or that gravity exists.
Regardless, taxpayer funds don’t belong in religious schools’ coffers. The Friedman Foundation asked hundreds of families receiving tax-funded vouchers why they chose a private school. “Religious education” tied for first with “better education,” according to Politico.
The religious right fears indoctrination from a public-school education. But think about this: If taxpayer dollars were used to send children to Muslim or Buddhist schools — well, the idea is so impossible it’s hard to imagine.
We need the trickle of dollars to help bolster education, not hinder it. Giving money to religious schools takes it away from public schools. If Americans are serious about improving their economy and quality of life, they need to start taking education seriously and keep religion out of it.
Religion can be taught at home. Oftentimes, science can’t.
[Justin Jones is a UF journalism senior. His columns appear on Thursdays. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 3/27/2014 under the headline "Taxpayers shouldn’t fund religious ed"]
