How School Choice Can Take The Political Fight Out Of Education
School choice is supported across both race and party lines, and could take a lot of the politics out of public education.
As parents and schools argue over what their children should be taught, the public education system is facing many challenges. In addition to concerns over the quality of content in the classroom, attendance is down, enrollment is down, there’s a worker shortage, and funding is based on the number of students that come to school each day. Districts that push material that isolates families drive them away, but one solution will benefit everyone involved. School choice is still considered a controversial topic but it allows teachers, parents, and students to find the resources that work for them.
Since Americans live in a capitalist nation, society is offered many choices. No one is forced to take on a job they do not like, or buy items from companies they disagree with. It is the choice that provides individual freedoms so that everyone can do what is best for them, except regarding education. The education system is not a free market. It is based on socialist ideologies which funnel federal, state, and local taxes into sectionalized schools which serve students based on geographical location. In truth, where families live means the most to parents and students because richer areas have richer schools. Poor children in poor areas do not receive a proper education (as many schools in poor areas lose accreditation), and are not taught the skills needed to further their education and/or obtain a high-paying job. But school choice could change that.
The current education system is proving to be a failure. The Biden Administration is offering more money to schools which insert personal identity politics into lessons, some states have put less focus on traditional subjects like math, science, and English, and others have even made it nearly impossible to fail students — by removing failing grades and the ability to hold students back if they fail. Students are confused. They’re losing the ability to think critically and research subjects for themselves because the public education system’s one-size-fits-all model is detrimental to some students who have different learning strategies, but also mainly because politics have taken over education. Again, school choice could make this different.
Children are no longer seen as young impressionable people in search of knowledge, they are seen as statistics. They are measured to see how they compare to others of different races, religions, and sexes. The United States Department of Education is determined to make learning “equitable” so that every student graduates with the same skills and understanding of the world around them. There is no diversity of thought, or encouragement for innovation any longer. School choice options would force public schools to serve their community instead of political parties.
By giving families the ability to shop around, schools that serve the needs of the students, and provide them with the best education possible will thrive. Parents and students would be able to research all institutes of learning and determine which is best suited for their goals. Schools that pass failing students, and have high literacy rates would not have the attendance to receive funding and would shut down. Schools that demand that students adhere to teachers’ personal politics wouldn’t be able to silence parents at school board meetings, because if they do not listen to the people supporting them, they will fail. School choice is an option that parents have been seeking for years. It is an American issue among families. The Latino community, the Black community, the Asian community, and the White community all support school choice at high levels.
Even across party lines, 78% of Democrats, 78% of Republicans, and 77% of independents support school choice. There have been many mainstream media reports trying to smear educational options as “racist” but the fact of the matter is that this is what the people want. The United States is a country governed by the people and for the people. The people are tired of being forced to enroll their children in sub-par public schools, then being fed the promise that they just need more funding. During the pandemic, public schools across the nation received billions of dollars to update their HVAC systems and teach students during some of the strictest mandates the country has ever seen, yet schools are still asking for more money.
Schools that refuse to create solid budgets in order to turn out good student performance rates would, again, lose support and be shut down, while better, more efficient schools would take their place. That is how school choice in a free market works. The people hold all the power. Everyone gets to vote with their choices and their dollar. When every school’s ability to function is based on each institute’s teaching methods, it becomes more difficult to insert politics and biased information into lessons. It would be too much of a risk to potentially anger parents and turn them away.
