No Gender Left Behind
The Bush Administration is preparing to relax restrictions on single-gender classes.
Under the change taking effect Nov. 24, local school leaders will have discretion to create same-sex classes for subjects such as math, a grade level or even an entire school.“Some students may learn better in single-sex education environments,” said Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. “These final regulations permit communities to establish single-sex schools and classes as another means of meeting the needs of students.”
Which invites the question: why did the federal government restrict single-gender classrooms in the first place? Why is the federal government micro-managing education at all?
“To prevent gender discrimination” is not an answer. If and when there is a demonstrated gender-based inequality in a particular school, then that particular instance can be addressed — in the courts, if necessary. Anti-discrimination laws should not be imposing pre-emptive “one size fits all” policies out of a fear of potential inequities, especially in an area such as a elementary and secondary education that has historically been administered at the state and local level. “Pre-penalizing” schools for discrimination that isn’t happening is akin to “pre-fining” whites for racial discrimination that they have not yet committed.
And it bears repeating: In twenty years the Republican Party has gone from calling for the abolition of the Department of Education to No Child Left Behind. Libertarians should naturally default to the GOP — why?
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To my amusement, immediately after reporting a story related to the anti-gay marriage amendment in Virginia, a local TV news anchor referred to the subject of this story by saying that the Bush administration was approving "same-sex classrooms".
I agree. The days of Reagan-esque small government Republicans are gone. Although if we're going to have a Dept. of Education I think this is the right rule. Parents and schools should have the ability to experiment and find a good fit for the kids living in that area. Schools shouldn't be forced by federal rules to adopt coed classrooms if single-sex classrooms might offer a better educational setting for some children.
Why indeed? There is no safe harbor in the Republican party for an Libertarian, at least from my point of view.
Because the federal government is in the business of creating "bureaucracy" … or at least that is the business that they think they are in. They consider bureaucracy to be the product that they produce. It's pathetic.
Taxpayer support for initiatives has been given moral equivalence to the initiatives themselves.
Ergo, since everyone values education, you must spend tax dollars on it to demonstrate the value you place on it.
Utter bulls**t, but that's where we are.