Support School Choice, Not ‘Free’ Education

Education is in dire need of serious reform and overhaul.

As our government continues to grow in its size and scope, our quality of education subsequently plummets. Big government initiatives such as Common Core, “Free Community College“, and student loan forgiveness – among many things – have plunged the U.S. further into obsolescence as a leader in education. More importantly, the propaganda that passes for learning material today promotes obedience to government and hatred for our country’s founding principles.

Some have argued that more government interference in education policy will make it more affordable, accessible, and even “free.” Quite the contrary. More government involvement in our lives always leads to more problems.

If we desire to reform education, it’s imperative to support reforms such as school choice over gimmicks like “free community college.”

The school choice movement is a full-fledged, multifaceted movement that has brought conservatives, libertarians, independents, and even some leftists together to fight for choice in education. Interestingly enough, this week- January 25-31, 2015 – marks the fifth annual National School Choice Week.  Here’s more about the annual January event:

Participants in National School Choice believe that parents should be empowered to choose the best educational environments for their children. Supporters plan events that highlight a variety of school choice options — from traditional public schools to public charter schools, magnet schools, private schools, online learning, and homeschooling.

Why should all Americans, especially Millennials, support school choice? Below are several reasons:

1) School choice is the perfect antidote to nanny statism

With the breakdown of families, bureaucrats who are backed by powerful Democrat-supporting unions have essentially become “surrogate” parents to students. This undoubtedly fosters nanny statism. When parents are largely absent from a child’s formative years, especially during grade school, bureaucrats are compelled to push their agenda onto them. (This ranges from sex education to pushing a leftist agenda in the classroom.) School choice empowers parents to choose and select which schools to send their child to. If a school employs teachers who solely push an antagonistic agenda (usually of the leftist variety) or teachers who fail to educate students on important rudimentary subjects, parents can seek out alternative top-performing schools. Empowering parents to be involved in their child’s education is pro-family and anti-paternalistic government.

2) School choice is rooted in free enterprise

Unless one is an avowed Stalinist or Marxist-Leninist who hates competition, how can anyone disagree with modeling our school system after free enterprise? When a free enterprise model is adopted to education, the following ensues: students perform better, teachers are accountable, and schools waste less taxpayer money.

As consumers in a relatively free market society, Americans are afforded many choices in their daily lives. We can select businesses to be patrons of, donate to a wide array of causes, or pursue the best opportunities afforded to us. Why can’t free market principles be applied to education? They certainly can! School choice allows parents to choose from vouchers, education savings accounts, tax credit scholarships, and individual tax credits/deductions to determine what option best matches their child’s need. Additionally, parents can choose to send their child to better public schools, private schools, charter schools, or home school under school choice. Isn’t that amazing?

Free markets and school choice go hand-in-hand. Embrace it!

3) School choice promote individualism, not collectivism

Much like collectivism, centralized education fosters mediocrity, low performance, and ineptitude. Education should be specialized, not employed through a one-size-fits-all model. Every child has different needs and performance levels. School choice offers various options so students can enhance their learning experience.

If you’re interested in getting involved with National School Choice Week, check out their website, follow them on Twitter, and LIKE them on Facebook!

This blog post was written by Gabriella Hoffman at Counter Cultured 

Share this!

Enjoy reading? Share it with your friends!