THE SOLUTION TO THE EDUCATION PROBLEM

Charter Schools Help EVERYONE

“Organized labor is organized to take control of an asset away from its rightful owners without paying for it. Organized labor is organization of property by those who don't own it. Organized labor, by driving up the costs of production through coercive means, destroys industries. Organized labor is piracy without the boats and eye patches. Why would anybody want to celebrate organized labor?”

― Douglas Wilson

School Memories

Many of us Baby Boomers have positive memories of our school days, many of us in public schools.  However, even as my early days shone, as I went into junior high and high school, things changed.  I had a math teacher so bad she didn’t understand what she was teaching. Two pushed Communism in such a subtle way, my parents didn’t realize what was happening until I started parroting some ideas.  I was saved by my mother’s insistence that I read “Atlas Shrugged.”  My Libertarian journey started there.

For the vast majority, you had two choices:  public school or Catholic school.  But times have changed.  If nothing else, the CCP virus helped parents understand and create new choices for their children.  Home schooling evolved to include study pods and other innovations. Charter schools bloomed.  Some states doubled down on vouchers, allowing kids from lower socio-economic classes to make a choice on schools.  But teachers are opposed to allowing parents choice.  As we all know now, they are even opposed to letting parents know what is being taught or having input.

Union Clout

Does anyone believe that teachers unions care about their children?  Unions are formed to protect workers’ rights, not to help customers, management or stockholders.  FDR was opposed to government unions because the opposing stakeholders (taxpayers) were not involved in the negotiations and couldn’t fight for their rights.  While some government unions might not abuse the privilege, the teachers’ unions have taken their “rights” to a whole new level.  Note:  I do not say “teachers” here as there are still many fine ones out there. They just don’t have the clout to defy their union.  And in many states, they don’t have the right not to be a dues-paying member.

The unions have fought for smaller class sizes overall (only beneficial to those struggling with the subject matter).  They want salaries and privileges not based on competency and achievement, but based on time in grade.  They’ve fought to keep bad teachers employed.  All of these demands are for their benefit, not anyone else’s.

Now, they demand the right to teach whatever they want, secretly help your tomboy transition to a boy (and studious boys to become girls), indoctrinate them with left-wing and CRT brainwashing and force them to ignore the teachings and faith of their parents.  To achieve their goals, their latest move is to get the government to make the formation and existence of charter schools difficult.  Biden is completely on-board, though I doubt he or his children had to attend a failing public school.

Killing the Charters

The new rules, pushed by the Department of Education in response to Biden’s desire to keep the union money coming, make it more difficult for a charter to open.  In particular, the new plan makes it much harder for schools to get the funds to open, especially in inner cities.  The theory is that if enrollment is declining, public schools should get to keep the students they are failing to teach.  Existing charters could also be forced out of business if the publics don’t get enough students.  Supposedly, Dems care about “the children,” but not when it threatens a major donor.

Diversity of staff is another requirement.  Given that a majority of teachers are Caucasian, this makes it harder for those wanting to make a difference to work in a school where they have the freedom to adjust educational material and methods to the students’ needs.  The rules also require a lot more paperwork; this burden will not fall on public schools.

Note:  these changes are being forced through.  You won’t get a chance to vote on them.  Since poorer families can’t afford private school or home-schooling in most cases, and the Dems hate vouchers, the kids most in need of help to achieve academic excellence will be trapped in schools that have already failed them. 

A Solution

Let’s phase out public schools. They were initially instituted to ensure every child had a good education.  Let’s implement vouchers and use public money to support charters. The proof is there; these options better fit the needs of students and parents.  Good teachers will find a home in these schools; bad ones will have to find a new career.  Get the Fed out of our schools.

“So long as public schools are treated as places that exist to provide guaranteed jobs to members of the teachers' unions, do not be surprised to see American students continuing to score lower on international tests than students in countries that spend a lot less per pupil than we do.”

-      Thomas Sowell

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