Write a three page paper in response to the following question, drawing on the video The Battle Over School Choice LB1027.9 .B38 that you were to watch for the class on November 12 and on Luhman's section on education. The essay is due to be discussed and turned in in class on Monday, November 15.

Take a position for or against school choice, explaining your position by talking about the role schools play in terms of socioeconomic inequality.

One important objective of this paper is for you to take a position and make an argument that explains and defends your position. However, as you make your argument you must recognize that there are two sides and you must acknowledge the strong arguments that support the position opposite to the one you choose. Your task is to make a convincing argument for your position without ignoring or simply dismissing the counter perspective.

Another important objective of this paper is for you to explain the important functions education serves in modern society. Sociologists talk about schools as a means for reproducing social inequality from generation to generation. School supporters say schools are settings that offer meaningful opportunity for low income children by encouraging objective competition where anyone can work hard, succeed and earn the rewards of a good education. Politicians who support school choice seem to think they increase opportunities for poor children while opponents think choice decreases those opportunities. You need to explain their positions and justify the position you choose.

When you answer this question you need to explain what school choice means, what the options are, and what you are favoring in your argument. This will be easy once you've seen the video.

Overseas Students:

If your pre-college school experiences were not in the U.S. you should still be able to do this assignment. Although the question relates to a specific issue in the U.S. political environment the issue exists in most countries. Should pubicly suppored education programs support and focus on the most motivated and talented students by allowing them to be separated out and placed in specialized schools? Doing this leaves students who demonstrate lower academic achievement out of the richest school environments and groups these less achieving students together so that they do not benefit from learning with their more able peers. Which arrangement represents the better choice?