Ontario Education Staple

Content

Current Problem

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

In today's economy, great education is critical. However, the past liberal and conservative governments have created a system where teachers can not innovate, politicians are deciding more about education than parents. Today's Ontario Ministry of Education is producing poor results at unsustainable costs to you and your children.

The Current Problem statement should be 3 or 4 sentences. The first sentence should be a positive statment which is impossible to argue on it's own. Followed by "However, the liberal and conservative government have...", and then only use "the current system" once - max. Try to use the global "You" at least once.

author: JNMcLarty

Monopoly (Lack of choice)

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State Mandated Curriculum & Calendar (based on farming) Lowest Common Denominator Teacher's Can't innovate.

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The system is producing a poor product. Politicians decide education more than parents.

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Education is necessary, the Ontario Libertarian Party believes that individuals need to understand economic principles, the importance of freedom and individual rights and have the knowledge to be critical of what is provided to them from "official channels".  There are few people in this province who will argue that all education needs to be paid for by every individual.  The political climate is very clear: public spending on education will be with us for quite some time to come.

Given that, the shocking lack of choice to parents is completely unnecessary, and it has worked as an impediment to the level of Quality that all this public funding could provide in education. --Gjhagenaars 01:45, 12 June 2012 (EDT)

• Some of GJ's Comments need to be included under other headings. I like most of the language he used, but it's just not fitting for defining the problem--Jeffrey McLarty 09:28, 22 July 2012 (EDT)

Short-Term Goals

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

Choice Coupons - Give parents and children the choice of where, what, and how their children learn. The Ontario Libertarian Party wants to allow the same dollars parents pay to directly benefit their own child. A Choice Coupon is the approach we would take to improve the availability, quality, and material chosen, of education. Choice Coupons would foster friendly competition between schools, increase innovation in the class room, and all children receive excelent education. Privatize Religious Schools - Give freedom to the Catholic School system to teach what and who they want, except without public funds. By eliminating the special treatment and advantages given to one minority diversity would grow naturally.

The Short Term Goals should be 2 to 4, incremental, implementaiton, achievable goals. With 1 to 2 sentences describing each.

author: TODO

Voucher System Defund chatholic schools

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Voucher system (but nicer word, less american) Fixed amount on anything unspent, cash back.

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Educational voucher issued to parents could be used as payment at the school of their choice.

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An introduction of a voucher system. This means that (public) money follows the student. Parents will be able to pick a school (public or private) and the voucher can be used by the school to use as the necessary funding to provide a quality education.

Private schools will (likely) have higher fees, so that parents will need to spend more money to get their children into an expensive private school. However, in locations where (non exclusive) private schools were introduced who didn't require a parental "top-up", some interesting things have happened.

1. Private schools got incentives to prove that they were INDEED better than public schools.
2. Public schools got incentives to prove that they were able to provide a quality education that was INDEED as good as (if not better) than a local private school.

This has happened in New Zealand. Standard testing showed that public schools took only 18 months to match the test results of private schools. Something that had not happened in the decades before the voucher system was introduced. --Gjhagenaars 01:51, 12 June 2012 (EDT) GJ, saying "Private schools will (likely) have higher fees" is not a good argument. First, it's a relative comment, so higher than what? 'Free'? Yeah...but... 'The current system per child'? Second, I'm willing to bet if private schools could reach economies of scale, they would operate cheaper than our current sytem. Third, if people don't want to pay for quality, the price will drop. --Jeffrey McLarty 07:32, 27 August 2012 (EDT)

Does "education coupon work? for "better language", "less-American"? --Jeffrey McLarty 07:32, 27 August 2012 (EDT)

Strategically, I think the timing is right to attack the Catholic arm of the education system. Putting them first on the "privatization" chopping block, would be a rational first step. In the presence of Catholics, you need to explain that this is a GIFT OF FREEDOM, to THEM. --Jeffrey McLarty 08:31, 27 August 2012 (EDT)

Long-Term Goals

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

Privatize All Public Schools - Give options and innovation in education to the future of our country. Allow the free-market to find the best methods and tools, the right balance of curriculum weightings, at the most sustainable prices. Eliminate Interference - Give the ability to share information back to society. Curriculum, testing methods, schedules, salaries, technologies, are all inappropriate to regulate when it comes to education. Each person giving or receiving education, should be allowed to do so, without interference from regulation.

The Long Term Goals should be 2 to 4, principle based goals. With 1 to 2 sentences describing each.

author: JNMcLarty

Privatization

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No state interference in education

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Allow parents to send child to school of their choice. Eliminate the department of education.

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The long-term "pure libertarian position" is that everyone pays for their own education.  We're a long, long, long way off from that.  I think we should ignore the long-term position and just go for what is going to be quite the uphill battle already.  Let the voucher system be the official "long-term goal".  Once we're there, we can talk about how to improve the situation further.  --Gjhagenaars 01:54, 12 June 2012 (EDT) GJ, you're losing sight of why we chose to do the long-run vs short-run. There are too many purists among us, that say we shouldn't change who we are. We need their passion and support. "Long-term" is relative anyway.--Jeffrey McLarty 08:50, 27 August 2012 (EDT)

Hard Questions

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

What About Home Schooling? Anybody who chooses to home school their children today, is forced to pay for services they are currently not using. With a voucher system in place, it could become possible to build into our proposed solution an approach where successful home schooling qualifies for a reduction in taxes for the parents. This would be closer to the libertarian ideal and still make sure that children end up with at least a basic understanding of individual rights, property rights, freedom, economics, language and math. If the voucher system is in place long enogh, it should be easy to reduce the voucher amount over time, and eventually eliminate the taxes paid by the parents who home-school. Parents naturally want the best for their children. With a more free-market like voucher system in place, costs are expected to decline and the quality and choices of education is expected to rise. One side effect as improvements come to the education system, home shooling is expected to become a less attractive option.

We know the common Hard Questions. Write them in question form, and then answer with 2 to 6 succinct sentences.

author: JNMcLarty

If you have a kid, you get a voucher

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Everybody who wants an education, still gets one.

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1. Voucher system will kill all the public schools! Do you hate the poor?

On the contrary. Evidence shows that public schools become more results focused and match the quality of the private schools. The poor (who cannot afford to pay a "top-up" for a private school) get a better education system for their children just because there is competition. The poor are better off with this system. --Gjhagenaars 02:06, 12 June 2012 (EDT)

GJ, I think the way this question is framed, it will confuse people. Through a voucher system, all schools become "more private", they have no choice but to compete. The way this question is framed and answered it appears as if there will be two tiers (public vs private) and I don't think that's what we should label it. I'm taking a communications perspective here, not arguing what the definition of our solution theoretically is or isn't.--Jeffrey McLarty 11:26, 22 July 2012 (EDT)

2. This does nothing for home schooling! Are you a real libertarian?

Home schooling costs significantly less than public (or private) schooling, and the quality of home schooling is fairly high most of the time. Successful home schooling could qualify for a reduction in taxes for the parents of those who home school. This would be closer to the libertarian ideal and still make sure that children end up with an understanding of individual rights, property rights, freedoms, economic understanding, reading, writing, etc. If the voucher system is in place longer, it should be easy to reduce the taxes of those who have ever home-schooled to be free from contributing to a system they don't believe in. --Gjhagenaars 02:06, 12 June 2012 (EDT)

3. I still have to pay for public education funding? Are you a real libertarian?

It has taken over 100 years to get to this point, we're not going to go anywhere by arguing for a return to an 18th century education system. We can improve the current situation. Once we are there, we can see how we improve the situation further. --Gjhagenaars 02:06, 12 June 2012 (EDT)

• This question is one that should be addressed verbally or less official channels. Mouth-to-mouth. It gets into the incrementalism-vs-principled. It's far more likely our marketing material is handed to a person that doesn't know what the word is, let alone will be questioning our principles.--Jeffrey McLarty 11:52, 22 July 2012 (EDT)

Policy Impacts

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

TODO

List the top 3 Policy Impacts. Describe with 2 to 3 sentences each.

author: TODO

Increase choice and competition Ideally, the education board would be abolished

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Less power for the government employees/unions.

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The Department of Education would still have a large budget, and would still dole out significant amounts of money. The way that money is handled will be significantly different. Parents end up with a lot more say in how education works, but there will be a registration of children against schools they attend (and for how long). Schools will have to compete with each other for students, and they will be free to do so.

There are several ways in which the overall budget can be calculated. As long as public funding of education is in place, it is reasonable to see an increase in costs per pupil per year (because of the wage factor and items / equipment / real estate / furniture / etc getting more expensive because of inflation). The Ontario Libertarian Party could take a simple approach of counting the number of children that attend school (right now), and how much is spent per pupil, and to take that amount as the baseline. Increase the baseline every year by the inflation rate, and let the schools figure out for themselves how they make their budgets work out.

This will (already) be difficult enough to sell, given the other parties' tendency to just throw more billions at the education problem (which doesn't work).

If we start from this position, nobody can argue that (a) people who are in the education field will end up earning less (because it's not true) and (b) quality will go down (because it's not true). --Gjhagenaars 02:16, 12 June 2012 (EDT)

Explained Improvement

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

Limitless Potential - Students will be able to push the upper bound of their own abilities, rather than hit a ceiling associated with available resources. Infinite Options - Parents will be able to choose from a menu of options to suit their priorities and preferences for what they believe is best for their children. Responsive Education - The supply and demand associated with skills the economy needs will become more flexible and competitive internationally. Innovative Classrooms - New methods of teach will be explored leveraging new technology as soon as possible. Sustainable Costs - The operators of schools will need to compete for business, which will keep costs low for parents.

The Explained Improvement is where we shine. We need the top 3 improvements, and 2 to 3 sentences describing each.

author: JNMcLarty

Students who have potential to excel, can and will. Education will respond to economic demands.

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Parents will have more choices for how their children are educated.

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Summarizing Language

TWO adjectives, ONE noun

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

Smarter, Inspiring, Education

We simply need Two Adjectives and One Noun. Eg. Faster, Cheaper, Healthcare.

author: JNMcLarty

Simpler superior choice

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Innovative, smarter, thorough, comprehensive

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• Smarter?
• Leading?

EDUCATION - Enriched, inspiring, education. [For children] --Jeffrey McLarty 17:48, 27 August 2012 (EDT)

ONE Catchy Slogan

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

TODO

One Catchy Slogan. This is critical. It should be witty, short, potent and include double entendres is possible.

author: TODO

Education is too important to be left to the government.

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ONE One-sentence quote

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

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Any One Sentence Quote from a candidate. We need name and riding either in 2011 or the 2012-2014 election.

author: TODO

Pubik education failed me completeetly. OMG. nuthin is rong w/ public schools. wtf!!

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He who pays the piper calls the tune.

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ONE Three-sentence quote

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

I don't believe the majority always knows what's best for everyone. The fact that the majority thinks they have a way to get something good does not give them the right..." - Penn Jillette.

TODO

author: Any Three Sentence Quote from a candidate. We need name and riding either in 2011 or the 2012-2014 election.

"I believe my education was compromised and stiffled, by the current status quo."

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TWO Charts/Graphs/InfoGraphics

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

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A picture says 1000 words. The economic trends are on our side. Find the best info graphics or Charts. Just upload the excel files with data for now. Don't spend time formatting. That will be done later (During Branding).

author: TODO

SKETCH: Freedom vs Public Education Spending SKETCH: Spending up, Quality down.

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Increased spending vs output -> see frasier institute.

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Somehow use the data here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Ontario and particularly this... http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/Religion_in_Ontario.png to point out how messed up it is, that 1/3 minority gets special treatment while the rest get the shaft.

High level bullet Summary

Quality... Quantity... Price... Participation... Voucher + Market Response + Innovation

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Short-term

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

TODO

The Summarize Short Term Goals should be easy after the section above is done. But language is key. Should be succinct.

author: TODO

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Long-term

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

TODO

The Summarize Long Term Goals should be easy after the section above is done. But language is key. Should be succinct.

author: TODO

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ONE economic concept

The language below is currently proposed as official. It is an attempt at using most of the notes below, and matching the writing style of the rest of the document and ofther staples.

TODO

The masses may or may not have been taught economics. So we need to show 1 or 2 Economic Concepts which will prove we have academia on our side and seperate us from the other also rans. It should get attention amongst academics (think: thought leaders) - good or bad attention is good attention.

author: TODO

Competition -> Choice, quality, lower cost.

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People only learn if they want to. Pretense of knowledge.

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THREE photos

Ask Christin about the "school textook before and after" photo.

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School where $70K missing Father stripped searched Ryan Comeau

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Guidance For Candidates

Writing to be used in training, and support of candidates. Not for publishing.

References

...citations are necessary