WASHINGTON
The President’s Advisory Board on Race recently found
that no national discussion on race in public schools is complete
without conservatives invoking the controversial issue of education
vouchers for poor children.
In a December 17, 1997, forum marked by constructive ideas and
barbed comments about race from a White audience member, board members
and other speakers engaged in mostly spirited discussions about how
best to promote both diversity and high educational standards.
Thanks to former education secretary William Bennett, however, the
forum also made clear that any discussion on education will face the
thorny issue of vouchers to help poor children attend private
institutions. Citing failures at inner-city schools in Atlanta,
Chicago, and Philadelphia, he said choice would reinvigorate education.
“The bad schools will be abandoned, and that is richly deserved,”
Bennett said, adding that failure to allow any child to choose between
a public or private school, regardless of income, “is a terrible
injustice. Let the people go.”
But Bennett’s comments drew strong challenges from others.
“We should fix public schools before we move on to private schools,”
said Dr. James Comer, professor of child psychiatry at Yale University,
who blamed public school problems in part on low expectations among
staff, most of whom also receive poor preparation.
