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04 January 2005: The Anti-Robin Hood (2 of 4)
So, to summarize: rich kids get more educational support at home, need kindergarten less, and get a financial reward for their rich parents. Poor kids who get less educational support at home and need kindergarten more are sent to schools that are rewarding rich parents at their expense.
Doesn't this sound a bit like a new spin on the voucher system? Except with this legislation, the poorest families aren't even eligible for the government payout.
This creates a situation, like so many other seemingly well-intentioned educational policies such as government-funded voucher systems and No Child Left Behind (read my series beginning on 26 October 2004), where poor kids continue to attend schools where the resources are depleted by the rich. The end result, of course, is that rich kids continue to have opportunities to maintain their wealth, while poor kids continue to have a pronounced lack of opportunities to change their lot.
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