The Value of Education
Shalampaxians have never put a lot of stock in formal education, or informal education either for that matter. Yet, a transformation is underway that is expected to give Shalampaxians a much greater appreciation of the tremendous worth of education.
A couple of members of the Shalampax school board recently read an article in the popular press about the value that education can contribute to society—any society. Having no opinions of their own on the matter, the school board members decided it would be easiest if they just bought into the concept rather than debating it.
Consequently, the school board now officially recognizes that education can contribute some value to Shalampax and Shalampaxians. This new attitude initiated a change to the whole approach to the delivery of education in Shalampax.
This is not to say that schooling has been totally lacking in Shalampax in the past. In fact, for some time now, Shalampax has offered free education from nursery school right up to grade 12 or for 25 years, whichever comes first. However, school attendance has never been mandatory, nor has it ever been promoted as being a good thing. As a result, truancy has been rampant.
This is about to change.
Effective immediately, school attendance will be compulsory until the student has either successfully completed grade 12 or reached the age of 35, again, whichever comes first. In addition, the school board will undertake a major marketing campaign to convince Shalampaxians of the great value they will receive from their newly obligatory education.
There will also be another change. Again effective immediately, parents will be charged $9,995 per year for each child they have in school, regardless of the grade.
By way of explaining the rationale behind the new school fee, Spiltmilk, a member of the Shalampax school board, said, “It’s important to keep two crucial points in mind. First, education provides significant value. That has now been established as a fact that is beyond dispute. And second, markets exist to reward the provision of value. When you consider those two facts in tandem it becomes irrefutably clear that it would be immoral for us to not charge a fee for basic schooling.”
Parents will be allowed to homeschool their children without paying any course fees. However, there will be a mandatory $12,000 annual testing fee to ensure that homeschooled students are educated at least up to the new Shalampax school board standards.
